Colouring Outside the Lines
by cookiemander
Summary: Goody-two shoes, colour within the lines Isabella Swan has never been in love. She doesn't have time for that when she's trying to make it on her own. But when she does fall in love, it's with her employer, Tanya Denali's fiancé. Bella has two choices. Take the plunge with the man she loves, or sacrifice her happiness for money. Maybe it's time for Bella to colour outside the line
1. Chapter 1: Who The Hell Are You?

**Chapter 1: Who the Hell Are You?**

Isabella Swan glanced at the wall clock as she sighed and resumed mopping the floor. Tanya Denali was being a bigger bitch than usual because of her return of her fiancé, Edward Cullen.

"Isabella! Are you done with the floors yet? I need you to clean this atrocious looking kitchen for me." Tanya's voice echoed across the huge house as Bella sighed and rolled her eyes.

Still, she quickly finished mopping the floors only to run into a man holding a cup of coffee. Groaning, Bella ignored the man's apologies and raced to the kitchen to get paper towels. When she got back, the man was nowhere in sight. Muttering to herself about the lack of manners some people have, she scrubbed the floor vigorously, cursing the person who made this mess. After finally cleaning up the mess on the floor, she made her way back to the kitchen only to be greeted by the floor.

"Great. Two minutes into the kitchen and I'm already a hazard to myself." Bella mumbled under her breath. Looking backwards, she found that she tripped over somebody's brief case.

"Sorry...Oh wait you're the girl I spilled coffee on."

Bella turned back around only to be face to face with a man that looked amazing in a coffee stained shirt. Immediately, she realized this was the same guy that spilled coffee all over her and the floor. His face was marred with concern and he extended his hand out as if to help her up from the floor. Giving herself a quick shake to stop staring at the man, she ignored the hand and pushed herself off of the floor and put her hands on her hips staring at him. As she stared at him, he retracted his hand and tilted his head sideways as if thinking about something while staring at her. She felt her frustration bubble over and she inserted venom into her words.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man instinctively moved backwards as if to avoid her wrath. Frowning, the man didn't offer any name rather he studied her more closely.

"What are you doing Isabella? I told you to clean the kitchen. Not to ogle at my fiancé." Tanya entered the room and nimbly avoided the brief case and interrupted their staring contest with her hands on her hips. She wrapped her arms around Edward and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Edward grimaced pulling away from her, as if embarrassed by her display.

Bella couldn't help herself but she continued to stare at Edward.

"You're Edward Cullen?" Bella asked incredulously.

She had used to know Edward Cullen. He was the geeky boy in her grade school who had moved after three years of education in the amazingly boring town of Forks. He had indeed grown out of the stereotype of a geek. He had filled out quite nicely with muscular arms and a strong chiselled jaw. She could bet that he had impressive abs underneath his coffee stained shirt.

Tanya snapped her fingers in front of Bella's face.

"I don't pay you to stand here and ask stupid questions. I definitely do not pay you to be a nuisance. But you are anyways. Now are you going to do what I asked you or are you going to be finding some new employment?" Tanya sneered at Bella.

Bella had to resist scowling and she turned her eyes down and she rushed out of the room and started to clean the kitchen in a daze. Vaguely, she could hear Tanya complaining about how she wasn't much help and more of just an ornament there. Scoffing quietly, Bella scrubbed every surface down extra vigorously. She wished she would've stayed in Phoenix with her mother instead of deciding to come to Forks only to be not much better off financially. Not to mention she was working for Tanya which was never a good alternative.

"Was that Isabella Swan?" she heard Edward's voice a rich velvet sound and Bella's ears pricked up, eager to hear what kind of interest he had in her.

"She's plain and boring; I know which is why she's working for me. Apparently her boyfriend dumped her and so she ended up here. So I, being nice decided she could have a job here." Tanya's nasally voice was vindictive and unapologetic at the insults that she was spitting out.

"She was like sobbing when she saw me. She was all like 'I need help! Please!'" Tanya continued.

Bella was used to Tanya talking about her like that to her friends, but she wished that she wasn't portrayed as a useless little girl on the streets in front of Edward. She sighed and scolded herself, unwilling to let herself care about what Edward thought about her. It wasn't like she needed Edward to like her. She needed to make enough money to get out of under Tanya's thumb and make it on her own. Moreover, she refused to let herself think about the breakup knowing that she would start bawling her eyes out. Not like that relationship meant a lot to her. And Bella realized that she really didn't love him. It was more of the ugly breakup and how much she was really worth in his eyes and apparently many others.

"She was so stupid. She was pining after a guy that was already married AND had ANOTHER girlfriend." Bella gritted her teeth as she heard Tanya continue to tell Edward the story featuring it in a horrible light.

Bella restrained herself from running into the room and setting the record straight. Her mantra was that she didn't care and that she was in her happy place, away from Tanya.

"I see," was the only response Bella heard from Edward.

Bella froze when she heard Tanya's clacking heels approaching the kitchen. She scrubbed vigorously keeping her head down afraid of confrontation and didn't want Tanya to know that she had been eavesdropping. Bella breathed a sigh of relief and she relaxed her posture when she heard the heels heading towards the upper floor.

The more Bella scrubbed, the more she felt the tears stuck inside her throat threaten to make an appearance. Looking around, she saw nobody approaching and heard nothing to distract her from her thoughts. Bella sank down to the floor and put her head into her hands. She felt the tears on her face even before she realized she was crying. She felt her shoulders shaking as she moved her hand to cover her mouth to hide the sound. She didn't need Tanya or heaven forbid, Edward to see her in this sorry condition. They already both thought she was a numbskull for falling for that guy not that they should care. So immersed with her pity party, she didn't hear shoes approaching the kitchen and he jumped when she felt contact with her hand. She looked up in shock to see Edward Cullen looking at her.

Bella immediately jumped up as she spluttered incoherent excuses. Scrubbing her face violently, she wiped the tears from her eyes and she kept her head down. As much as she scrubbed, the tears kept streaming and she cursed herself inside and pinched herself to make herself stop.

"Are you okay?" Uncertainty laced his question as if he knew that she didn't want to talk to him.

Bella nodded furiously as she flinched away from the hand that had reached out to catch her tears. It was quiet for a little bit as she was scared to even move an inch away from her spot. She heard him sigh as she slowly lifted her eyes to look at him. His eyes were full of confusion and kindness that Bella wasn't used to seeing. She was always used to Tanya's vindictive stare or her uncaring look. Edward seemed to feel pain on behalf of Bella and she didn't find any sympathy or pity in his look, it was just concern. Bowing her head back down, she shuffled out of the kitchen with a soft apology on her lips. She returned to her room, if you could call it that. It was just the attic made with a bed and her belongings in it. There, she let her tears fall along with her willpower to remain strong. She fell asleep with the tear streaks visible on her face.

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This is just something new that I'm working on, I hope you guys enjoy it and let me know what you want to see and what you want to be changed!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	2. Chapter 2: The Morning After

**Chapter 2: The Morning After**

The morning sunlight glared at Bella as she awoke with a groan. She unfolded herself from her fetal position and stretched out her sore muscles. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at her phone for the time. It was six in the morning so she reasoned that nobody should be up at this ungodly hour. Still, she listened for any sounds of movement downstairs. Feeling safe, she grabbed some clothes and quietly crept down the stairs and headed for the bathroom. She took one look at herself in the mirror and immediately flinched. Her hair was a bird's nest on her head and she looked like she was doing the walk of shame after a wild night at the club. Deeming her hair as a lost cause, she entered the shower, standing under the hot water and letting it release the tensions in her muscles. After getting out of the shower, she threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a baggy shirt and ran a brush through her still wet hair. Trying to brush through her knots, she realized her hair just wasn't having it. Giving up with a sigh, she brushed her teeth and started to head out of the bathroom. Listening for any sounds outside the door, she quietly crept out of the bathroom. Walking out in a hurry, she ran straight into a warm body and her body froze.

Looking up, she was greeted by the handsome face of Edward Cullen. He wore his square rimmed glasses in his gray t-shirt and sweats and he still looked like a model ready for a photo shoot. All Bella could think about was what Tanya told Edward last night about her pathetic love life. Deciding that he thought she was pathetic anyways, she scowled at him.

"We're always bumping into each other aren't we?" Edward joked, trying to alleviate the tension that had appeared between them.

Bella gave a terse nod and a sarcastic smile before trying to move around him towards the kitchen but Edward moved in every direction she went, blocking her path. Glaring up at him, she took a step back.

"I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot yesterday." Edward stuck his hand out towards her.

"I'm Edward Cullen."

Rolling her eyes, Bella shook his hand quickly and ignored it when she felt that small spark between them.

"I know who you are. Tanya's mentioned you enough. Her fiancé." Bella put on a snooty French accent and stuck her nose up in the air.

"I also went to school with you so I know exactly who you are." Bella once again tried to reach the kitchen, but Edward put out an arm to stop her from leaving.

"Isabella Swan right?"

Bella stared up at him with incredulity written all over her face. A small giggle threatened to escape her. Edward cocked his eyebrow in confusion.

"Is this why Tanya chose you? You're on the same intelligence wave length as her?" Bella snickered before seeing Edward's confused face.

"Don't act obtuse Cullen. It doesn't suit you." Bella pushed past him and made her way to the kitchen.

Trying to keep her insane laughter inside her, she focused on making herself some breakfast that would be fast so that she could retreat back to her room. Looking around the kitchen, she decided that cereal would be the easiest breakfast to make. She grabbed the boring healthy cereal that Tanya insisted had to be bought for her "figure". She went to get a bowl which was on the top shelf. Bella's short frame had no chance of reaching those bowls. Still, out of her stubborn personality, she stretched as far as she could to reach those bowls.

"Just a little bit more." Bella said under her breath, giving herself some encouragement.

Before she could lose her balance and potentially embarrass herself again, Edward was right there behind her, grabbing the bowl with ease.

"Looked like you needed some help there." He leaned against the counter and stared at Bella as she bustled around the kitchen trying to grab the last few ingredients for her cereal.

"Thanks." Bella muttered.

"Why are they on the top shelf anyways?" Edward asked peering at the shelf.

"There's no way you can grab them without injuring yourself or others." Edward lifted his lips in a crooked grin, engaging Bella in his soft teasing.

Bella opened her mouth to say something about Tanya's unwillingness to accommodate to others and that it was her way or the highway but she heard Tanya's high heel shoes clack down the hallway. Shrugging, Bella turned away from Edward and poured out her cereal. Edward repeated the question to Tanya and Bella felt Tanya's eyes on her back.

"Bowls are an ugly figure. They don't belong with the rest of the dishes. They should be by themselves, alone forever." Tanya's sneer reached Bella's ears and she knew it was a jab at her pathetic romantic life.

Suddenly Bella wasn't hungry anymore. Staring at the poured cereal in her bowl, she clenched her hands into fists, willing herself to be the bigger person and ignore Tanya.

"Bowls are pathetic dishes really. Always begging to be used. But their separation from others should give them a hint that without the kindness of others, they don't have anybody and they shouldn't be frolicking with other dishes. Definitely not with those dishes who are otherwise ENGAGED in other activities." Tanya continued, with each word she was moving closer to Bella, making it obvious to everybody in the room that this was no longer about bowls.

Bella's back stiffened hoping Tanya would just shut up.

"Bowls should really know better. I mean you'd think they'd learn their lesson after being unwanted so many times." Tanya's voice was right beside Bella's ear but Bella refused to be intimidated.

After a few moments of complete silence, Tanya gave a slight sigh, but her eyes narrowed, knowing that she had affected Bella in some way.

"Eddie, I have to run some errands today. Would you like to come with me?" Tanya's falsely sweet voice made Bella's teeth want to rot right off her mouth.

With her back still turned to them, Bella didn't see Edward's non verbal response. All she heard was Tanya's huff of annoyance.

"Bella!" Tanya's loud whip like voice echoed in the kitchen, causing Bella to jump and turn around to look at Tanya, avoiding Edward's gaze at all costs.

" I need you to clean my room, scrub my bathroom clean with the toothbrush, clean the kitchen again since you dirtied it, clean the bathroom upstairs, clean my trophies and medals, vacuum the basement, water the plants..." Tanya walked away from the kitchen, listing all the chores that needed to be done and Bella's eyes slowly shifted towards Edward's profile and saw his jaw clenched in anger. Bella studied his face noting a scar that was visible on his eyebrow and vaguely remembered a playground incident back when they were kids.

Edward's eyes slid over to Bella and she immediately snapped her eyes back on Tanya's retreating back with a blush painting her cheeks. Soon, realization hit that she was alone with Edward Cullen in the kitchen. Swallowing through the lump in her throat that had suddenly gathered, she glanced in Edward's general direction.

"Well I better get to it then." She cleared her throat and put her non-eaten cereal back into the box and put away all her breakfast making items.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Edward asked with his hip leaning against the counter.

"Oh no, your fiancée takes away my appetite which isn't anything unusual. Her attitude towards others should take away your sexual appetite for her. I mean it sure takes away my sexual appetite for her." Patting him lightly on the shoulder, Bella sauntered out of the room silently congratulating herself for the jab at Tanya's expense.

Reaching Tanya's master bedroom, Bella groaned when she saw the mess. While Bella's hair looked like she had a wild night out, Tanya's room looked like the place that had the wild night. Sighing, Bella started to clean and mentally prepared herself for the rest of the day.

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Hope you guys like it so far! Let me know what you think!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	3. Chapter 3: Having Some Fun

**Chapter 3: Having Some Fun**

Bella hummed quietly to herself while she picked up all of Tanya's dirty clothes and unnecessary messes from the floor. Hearing the soft clearing of throat, she glanced up to see Edward at the door. Rolling her eyes, she ignored him and continued with the terrible task of cleaning Tanya's bathroom.

"I didn't know Tanya was this messy." Edward commented taking a quick peek into the room and the bathroom.

"She does this on purpose so I have more to clean so that I'm "Getting my money's worth" And that's what she's all about you know. Saving money especially from poor people like me." Bella couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice as unloaded the dirty clothes into the hamper and started on cleaning Tanya's bedside drawer.

"So why do you work for her. Why don't you search for another job?" Edward sauntered into the room and sat on the desk chair, watching Bella clean the room.

Bella gave him an exasperated look.

"You think finding a job is easy? I mean it must be easy for you. Give the HR girls a smile and they'll hire you right away. I on the other hand have no sexual charms and not to mention the girls there wouldn't even give me a second glance. There is NO job opportunities here in Forks. None." Bella complained.

"So why move back to Forks?"

Bella stopped her actions and realized that she was talking to Edward Cullen.

"It's really none of your business. Besides why do you care? You have this gor- oh excuse me, gorilla like fiancée who makes messes like it's her day job, spits at everybody she sees unless they're important and her baby voice she uses with you could send her to jail for pedophilia." Bella looked up as if in thought.

"Not to mention your charming good looks who can charm the pants off of any girl you want and your gorgeous head of hair makes you a hunkalicious guy and let's not forget I suspect you have some nice washboard abs underneath that t-shirt. You really should not worry yourself with my petty little problems because god knows Tanya doesn't care."

"You think I'm good looking?" Edward smirked.

Bella stared at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Really? Through all that, that's all you got from it?"

"Well I mean you described my hunkaliciousness in depth, so I mean it does some good for a guy's ego."

Bella let out a yelp of frustration and left Tanya's room to clean her bathroom. She saw a used condom lying on the floor. Picking it up with toilet paper, she re-entered Tanya's room and approached where Edward was sitting.

"Really? You couldn't even aim for the garbage can?" Bella asked.

Edward stared at the condom in a stunned silence for a couple of seconds.

"This is a condom Edward. You know for safe protected sex." Bella spoke slowly as if Edward was a child.

"I know what it is." Edward snapped, causing Bella to take a step back.

"I'm just saying. Next time could you please put it in the trash can so that I don't need to see the piece of evidence that you guys banged? I really..."

"It's not mine." Edward interrupted her.

Bella blinked a couple times before she understood what he said.

"What do you mean it's not yours. You were here last night, first night after seeing the fiancée, chicka chicka bang bang, bada bing bada boom, goin' at it like bunnies and you go to the bathroom, drop the condom somewhere to get back into bed with her and get some nookie." Bella reasoned.

"I didn't sleep here last night. I was in the guest room." Edward's jaw clenched.

Bella stopped her verbal diarrhea and stared at Edward.

"Why wouldn't you sleep here last night. You don't have that whole "no sex before marriage" thing do you? Not that I don't respect that. But I mean let's be honest you're going to want to sample the goods before committing yourself to her. I mean can you imagine a whole life of no good sex? Let's get real here. If she's not going to be a nice person, you want to at least know she's great in bed..." Bella stopped talking after seeing Edward's face glower at the condom in her hand.

"Uh right then. I'm just going to dispose of this real quickly." Bella backed away from him but Edward stood up freezing Bella in her steps.

Edward advanced towards her with a frown marring his features.

"You know I blurt things out when it's a tense or awkward situation. So whatever I said before you should just disregard. So again, I'm going to just dispose of this and continue in what I was doing and pretend none of this happened." Bella turned around to make a quick getaway but Edward grabbed her arm causing the condom to drop onto the floor.

Horrified, Bella watched in a stunned silence and Edward jerked her to look at him.

"So if I didn't spend the night here and there was no nookie going on. Who the hell was doing it with her last night." Edward's grip on her arm tightened and Bella shifted uncomfortably.

"Uhm Tanya likes to put dirty things around her room and the house for me to clean. So this one could be a fluke. You know. Filled with water and nothing happened." Bella stammered.

"Does that LOOK like water to you?" Edward growled.

"Uh I'd rather not look thanks. I was just going to throw it out with the contents still safe inside. So right now I'm just going to ignore that stain and uhm maybe move onto other things that don't require me to retract aids from it." Bella said, trying to get her arm loose from his grip.

Edward let go of her arm and Bella restrained herself from rubbing it. Edward's face cracked into a smile before he roared in laughter. Bella stared at him, confusion fogging her brain. He went over to the condom and picked it up and threw it at Bella who shrieked and dodged it.

"ARE YOU DUMB? I DON'T WANT THAT ON ME!" Bella shouted in panic.

Edward clutched at his stomach, laughing hysterically.

"It's just...It's water." Edward managed to say through his laughs.

Bella put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot with her eyebrows drawn. When Edward showed no sign of his laughter letting up, she went into the bathroom and grabbed a bucket from the bathroom cleaning supplies. She filled it with water and approached Edward.

"You think that's funny? Well this is hilarious." Bella said dryly and poured the bucket of water all over Edward.

Edward sputtered and Bella let the smile tugging on her lips become a giggle and Edward's twinkling eyes met hers and Bella cleared her throat, looking away from him. Her eyes wandered to the clock and she gasped at the time.

"Holy crap, she's going to be home soon and I haven't even done HALF of the things she wanted me to. Get outta here. You're distracting me. She's going to dock my pay and refuse to let me eat in her house if I don't get these done. And now I have to clean this water nonsense."

"Okay this water puddle here is your fault." Edward pointed out, a grin showing on his face.

"You started it. Go away Edward." Bella scolded and quickly got to work of disposing the condom and drying up the water.

Deciding it was time to throw him a bone, she wagged her finger at him and smirked.

"You're in big trouble mister."

Edward's smile caused Bella to smile reluctantly and she shoved him out of the door.

"Go get dry and leave me alone."

Edward put his hands up in surrender and left the room but he gave her a wink before he went in search of some clean clothes. Bella grumbled under her breath and hid her face behind a curtain of hair, but a smile was on her face the rest of the time she cleaned Tanya's room.

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What do you guys think? :D

xoxo,

cookiemander


	4. Chapter 4: The Trophy Room

**Chapter 4: The Trophy Room**

Bella looked at the time again and sighed in frustration. Tanya was going to be home soon and thanks to Edward's "prank", she was running far behind on her chores. So far, she had only been able to clean Tanya's room, her bathroom, the bathroom upstairs, and she had just barely finished cleaning the kitchen. Speak of the devil, Edward walked into the kitchen looking pleased with himself. Very determined to ignore him for sure this time, Bella walked past him to go vacuum the basement.

"What's your hurry?" His voice drawled behind her. Letting her annoyance get the best of her determination, she whirled around with her finger poking at his chest. His very firm chest which briefly echoed in her thoughts before she glared at him.

"Unlike you, Mr. I'm going to play jokes and make Bella clean it all up, I have things I need to do. Like vacuum the basement, water the plants, and do the laundry. Oh and I need to make sure her trophies and medals for being the most air headed person out there shine so she can see her ugly face in them." Bella huffed.

"Why do you insist on insulting my fiancée in front of me? And yet, you cower in front of her." He mused and Bella blushed at his words.

"Well..Well, you don't pay my bills. You don't give me a roof to live under. If I said any of that stuff to her she would kick me out and make sure I have no other employment for the rest of my life. Anywhere." she stammered trying to get an excuse out.

"Now if you'll excuse me. I have things I need to do before your beautiful bride to be enters that door."

Edward blocked my exit much to my annoyance.

"Really? We're going to do this again?" Bella put a hand on her hip narrowing her eyes at him.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll tell her what you said?" Edward asked casually.

"Well as much as I'd like to think you're not like her, this malicious and evil person, if you did, then I guess I know why she picked you as her fiancé." Bella retorted wiping at some imaginary dust that had gathered during their conversation.

"If you think she's this evil bitch that's out to get you, why don't you go back to Phoenix? Better, why'd you even leave Forks in the first place?" Edward didn't look like he was going to budge any time soon, determined to get some answers from her.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're in my way and that I need to work?" Bella cried out, throwing her hands in the hair.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere until you give me some answers." He responded, looking pleased with himself.

"Why do you even care so much? Shouldn't you be with your fiancée picking out which napkins to use at the reception?"

"We're using these pale beige ones. It's to compliment the wall colour which is being painted for us. I'm bored. And you interest me. I think we should get reacquainted. We used to be friends in grade school. Remember that? Those good ol' days." Edward punched Bella's arm lightly.

"Yeah, okay for what three years? Not exactly enough for me to make you a "best friends" forever bracelet." Bella said sarcastically.

"Ouch, that hurts! And here I thought by sharing my gummy bears with you would make us bonded forever. I gave you my favourite flavour! I'm wounded." Edward put his hand on his heart and hand on his forehead as if distressed.

"Okay, relax drama queen. If I wasn't so pressed for time and work, maybe I would consider reconnecting with you. But honest to god, right now I have zero time before the she-monster comes home." Bella stopped talking when Edward wagged his finger at her.

"There you go again, insulting my fiancée. That's a concerning factor in your relationship isn't it?"

"I think what's more concerning is that you stand there listening to me insult her but you don't stand up for her and you don't defend her. Do I sense trouble in paradise?" Bella raised her eyebrows.

"Are you paid to be involved in our love life?" Edward asked with a slight twitch of his lips.

"No, but since you seem to be so involved in mine right now I thought I'd return the favour." Bella responded.

"Well good news for you, I just got a call from Tanya telling me that she was going to be late because her errands held her up longer than she expected. Which means, it gives us an extra two hours to get reacquainted." Edward said.

"What are you talking about? I need these two hours to finish everything!"

"Well good news for you is that I vacuumed the basement, and I watered the plants and I started the washer. I just didn't realize you had trophies to shine." Edward frowned to himself.

"How did I not hear the vacuum cleaner? Or the hose going off. Am I going deaf?" Bella reached up to touch her ears self consciously.

"Well I mean you are three floors up and hustling and bustling around. Besides, I thought I'd get a thank you for doing those chores. Now we can chat."

"Let's just remind ourselves that you did this for you, and not for me. So I think once I finish your beloved's trophies, I should get some time on my own." Bella said.

"Then I'll help you and we can talk. Where are the trophies anyways?" Edward looked around, as if to see whether the trophies were in the kitchen.

"She keeps them in a locked room that she only opens for people she thinks would be impressed with her. And all of them who see it are people like her so they try to outwin each other." Bella said wryly. She grabbed a set of keys from a basket of keys and she walked past Edward to go upstairs.

They went up to a room with a door painted gold. Edward whistled under his breath. Bella inserted the key into the slot and twisted it to unlock it.

"I am very ashamed to present, Tanya's Trophy Room." Bella announced, throwing the door open.

Inside the room were shelves of Tanya's trophies. They were all gold, not a silver one in sight. Edward went over to the shelves to investigate the trophies and saw that they were all trophies from beauty pageants. From the corner, Bella grabbed the trophy shining kit and threw him a set.

"Well, get shining pretty boy."

Edward gave her a small grimace, but he took a trophy out and started to shine it the way Bella was. Bella glanced up at Edward and she had to smother a giggle at his distaste for shining trophies.

"Well I think we had a deal." Edward said.

Bella's back stiffened and sighed.

"Alright, let's have at it then."

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Thank you for reading! This is a pretty short chapter, with not a lot going on. The next chapter will have Bella and Edward really "bonding". Keep reading! Let me know what you guys think! :)

xoxo,

cookiemander


	5. Chapter 5: Now You See Me

**Chapter 5: Now You See Me**

Edward smiled triumphantly and rubbed his chin, pretending like he was deep in thought.

"Let's see. What should I start with?"

"Don't be a jerk. Just ask your stupid questions." Bella grouched, not making eye contact with him.

"Alright, alright no need to bite my head off. When and why'd you leave Forks?" Edward asked, pausing his shining.

"I'll tell you if you keep shining that trophy." Bella pointed at him and sighed.

"My parents got divorced when I was just about to go into high school. My dad, Charlie couldn't take care of me full time since he was the Chief of Police. You remember that don't you? He was already the Chief of Police when we were in kindergarten. He had long hours and didn't have much time for the family. Which is why my mom asked for a divorce. Charlie didn't ask for full or even joint custody. He just let me go with my mom. Since he didn't fight for me..I mean the custody, they didn't even ask me who I wanted to stay with. So I had to leave with my mom and she decided to go to Phoenix. Nice weather over there. None of this rainy weather." Bella explained.

"If they asked you who you wanted to be with, would you choose your dad?" Edward asked.

Bella remained silent, pondering his question.

"I don't know. I think I would've wanted to stay with him just to try to connect with him on some level and try to reconnect him and mom maybe. I would want to try to fix things. So maybe it's better I didn't stay with him. Mom's happy now." Bella answered honestly.

"So how was life in Phoenix?"

"It…It was hard. Mom got really depressed when we got to Phoenix. I thought maybe the nice weather and friendly people would be enough to raise her spirits but she was really broken up about the divorce. Of course she never showed it to Charlie, but I think things would've been able to be patched up if she just reached out to him and talked to him about it. Still, mom couldn't work. Nobody would hire her. Said she was too much of a liability. A burden because of all her emotional turmoil. Obviously that didn't help her mental state." Bella trailed off, her eyes vacant, thinking about the past.

"What about you?" Edward asked Bella gently.

"What about me? I never had it as hard as mom did. Yeah high school was tough since I was the new kid. And nobody wanted to be friends with me. Not even the kids in my advanced classes. Not that I had time for friends. I worked part-time at this convenience store and as a waitress in a local restaurant to earn money to pay for rent and groceries." Bella retorted.

"So you missed out on your high school life." Edward stated.

"There wasn't any part of high school I wanted. I didn't need to get wasted beyond belief and I didn't need to be sixteen and pregnant. By working, I could avoid those experiences and be smart." Bella snapped.

"So then what happened?" Edward prodded.

"So then mom did the only thing depressed women could ever do. She fell in love."

"I thought she was cooped up in the house all day. How did she even meet anybody?" Edward switched trophies and looked at Bella.

"She watched a lot of TV. And on that TV screen was a baseball player. Phil Dwyer. It was all by chance. He's not even a major league baseball player. He was just in the minor leagues and he got interviewed for this charity thing that he supports. Mom saw him on TV and it was an instant connection for her. Seeing her so happy for the first time was actually quite shocking. The way her face lit up when she talked about him or when somebody mentioned him. She looked up all his stats and his team and what not. She became obsessed with him. I feared for his life to be honest with you. But one day it clicked in my mom's head somehow that she knew that she was never going to meet him and marry him or start a life with him. She went right back into her depression. Seeing her like that again was…hard. So I emailed the team, I wrote letters, I called whoever I could to pull some favours. I finally got Phil to visit and see my mom." Bella smiled fondly at the memory.

"When she saw him at the door, her whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. And the rest is history I guess. They got married two years ago and they're still really happy together." Bella finished and tilted her head to look at the shine on the trophy.

"So your mom was better. What about you?" Edward asked.

Bella shifted uncomfortably in her spot and grimaced.

"I finished high school, stayed with my mom and Phil for a couple of years while working and then moved out here. Nothing interesting." Bella hastily replied.

"That doesn't sound very truthful." Edward said.

Bella huffed an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes.

"In my senior year I met this guy. James. He always visited the restaurant I worked at and he even sometimes showed up at the convenience store where I worked at night and made sure I got home safe. He was older than me. I was 17 at the time and he was 24. We started to talk a lot. By phone, at work, online. He was the only person who seemed to care about me. I mean mom was unhappy all the time and when she found Phil, she was focused on him. I didn't see or talk to Charlie a lot so I assumed he didn't care about me. And James seemed so attentive. So nice and never pushed me into doing anything I didn't want to. Always very considerate and I felt safe with him. I told him all my problems and he seemed to take it all away by just comforting me and just holding me. I would sneak him into my room after my mom was sleeping and he'd just lay there with me and he never asked for more." Bella twisted the rag in her hands nervously.

Edward stopped polishing the trophies to look at her.

"And then?" Edward prompted.

"And then I turned 18 and graduated high school. That's when he started to initiate little kisses and more intimate things. At first I didn't mind since I knew he had needs I mean what guy doesn't. But then he started to get more and more aggressive and I wasn't ready for it. But still, I felt bad since the guy who was helping me so much couldn't get any release. So I finally agreed to have sex with him. But really, I was never going to. I was going to kind of stall him and hoped that he would understand. Turns out he didn't understand. The next day, after rejecting him he and this other woman came by to the restaurant where I worked. She pointed her finger at me and accused me of seducing her husband and coming in between their marriage. She told me that she was pregnant and that a hussy like me needed to leave them alone. I looked to James, but he just stood there with a smirk on his smug face and mouthed to me "I told you so." Everybody in the restaurant just stared at me and made their judgements. It was humiliating. Nobody in that area wanted to hire me because they thought I was going to steal their husbands and boyfriends. I couldn't find work anywhere and people were throwing eggs at the house, and writing vulgar words on the garage. My mom and Phil had no idea this was going on and I didn't want to pull them into this mess so I decided I should leave that place." Bella concluded with a soft voice.

"Why didn't you tell them the truth?" Edward's enraged voice shocked Bella.

"Well I mean it was a hussy's word against a grown man's. Nobody would've believed me." Bella said.

"Didn't people even wonder why a husband who is supposedly dedicated to his wife would even be tempted?" Edward said.

Bella shrugged.

"It doesn't matter now. It's all in the past. I've moved on." Bella told him.

"So how'd you end up working for Tanya?"

"When I first came to Forks, I tried to look for Charlie. I found him but I found out he had remarried a woman named Sue and she had two kids living with them already. I think their names are Leah and Seth? They're still in high school and Charlie already has enough on his plate. So I didn't want to bother him. I asked Charlie whether there were any job openings and Charlie mentioned something about me visiting Tanya because he thought we used to be schoolmates and that she was hiring an in house maid or something. So I came here and she took me in I guess." Bella put away one of the trophies and started to polish a medal.

"So why haven't you looked for another job if you're so miserable here."

"This job might be terrible and with the she-monster here it's pretty unbearable. But it gives me a roof over my head and food in my belly and a bed to sleep in. All where I work. If I went out to find another job, I would have to start over with house hunting and grocery shopping. At this point I don't have enough money to do all of that so I need to save up before I start to look for a place to stay and a more stable job." Bella explained while moving the medal back and forth to see it's shine.

"Why don't you ask for money from your mom?" Edward had long given up on shining the trophies and Bella ceased to notice it, much to his pleasure.

"Her and Phil are travelling with his team. They're using the money that Phil earns and I know Phil has a lot to deal with, especially with my mom. So I don't want to be a bother."

Edward frowned, but didn't say anything and just watched her shine the trophies. Deciding to get rid of the tension that had gathered during their talk, Edward broke the silence.

"What did the green grape say to the red grape?" Edward asked.

Bella turned to Edward and rolled her eyes but played along.

"What?"

"Breathe, idiot! BREATHE!" Edward smirked at his own joke.

Bella looked at him with raised eyebrows but couldn't help but her lips twitched into a smile.

"You're so weird." Bella grumbled.

Edward chortled quietly to himself but soon he got bored of rubbing the same spot for five minutes. Taking a water spritzer, he snuck up behind Bella and sprayed her with water. Bella shrieked and turned to Edward with menace on her face.

"WHAT IS WITH YOUR OBSESSION WITH WATER?" Bella shouted at him.

All Edward do was stare at her with a happy go lucky expression and sprayed her again in the face. Bella growled and grabbed her water spritzer and sprayed Edward and the two ran around the room like they were four again. Bella shrieked whenever she got sprayed, and Edward barked a laugh every time Bella missed him.

"Well. Isn't this cozy." A cold voice penetrated Bella's senses and she froze, and glanced up to a very unamused Tanya.

* * *

Well, well, well. They got busted by the she-monster. What do you guys think?

I've already planned for the next chapter, so stay tuned! :D

xoxo,

cookiemander


	6. Chapter 6: Now You Don't

**Chapter 6: Now You Don't**

Tanya stood in the doorway with a sneer on her face. Bella cringed and glanced around the room. The trophies were soaking wet and they looked like there was gel drooling down their sides. She pressed her fingernails into her palm to stop herself from laughing at the ridiculous sight.

"Busted..." Edward whispered beside her.

Bella snuck a glance at Tanya's angry expression and realized that she was in bigger trouble than Edward was worth.

"Isabella Swan." Bella flinched as Tanya's voice seemed to echo in the room.

Tanya stepped forward right in front of Bella and started to circle around her as if trying to create some sort of dramatic appeal. It just made Bella imagine a vulture, circling its prey and the look on Tanya's face right now made Bella imagine a vulture's beak on her mouth.

"Tanya..." Edward began but Tanya put up her hand to stop him.

"No. Edward. You can leave now. She is my employee and I would like to deal with her as I see fit." Tanya said.

"Deal with her? What do you mean deal with her. She hasn't done anything wrong. She's done all the chores you asked her to..."

"Done. All. The. Chores? This is not what I call done. These trophies are soaking wet and they will stain. The water marks will be there and it will ruin them. They won't have the shine and gold colour I like. THEY DON'T REFLECT MY TALENTS." Tanya shrieked with her face red.

Bella's eyes went wide and she thought it'd be best if Edward didn't keep talking to her. Tanya's blood pressure was going to rise and her head was going to pop right off her body if she kept shrieking like that. Tanya took a deep breath and Bella awaited the next round of shrieking.

"I'm going to go cool off in my room. Bella. I expect you to come see me in ten minutes." Tanya visibly tried to contain herself and left the room.

"I'm thinking she needs more than ten minutes to cool down." Edward commented.

"Oh shut up. This is all your fault. Now I'm going to take the fall for it and she's going to fire me and I'm going to be living on the streets." Bella pushed past Edward and followed Tanya upstairs.

Bella knocked on Tanya's door and at her terse bark to go in, Bella took a deep breath and entered the room. Tanya was wearing a robe and was sipping a glass of wine and she sat in front of the vanity.

"Tanya I'm so sorry. I will clean every drop of water up and make sure your trophies shine and..." Bella started to say.

"Bella. Come here." Tanya interrupted in an eerily calm voice.

Bella gulped and she walked over behind Tanya to stare at her through the vanity.

"Look at me." Tanya ordered.

"Here in this mirror, I see a gorgeous woman who is going to get married in a couple of months. A woman who knows what she wants and is going to get it. A successful woman who has a stable job and a house to live in. And then look at you. A sloppy girl who can't even do the simplest tasks given to her. A girl who has no dreams and goals and just floats on by with her life. A girl who relies on others to do her bidding and thinks she can get away with taking somebody's man." Tanya continued.

Bella's eyes flashed and her jaw clenched, but she made no sound.

"This isn't the first time you've tried to do this Bella. I'd think you learned the first time around. I thought you were smart. Oh wait you didn't go to college. You just have a measly high school diploma. Not to mention that you can't find employment anywhere. You're not important in anybody's lives. Let's not forget that I gave you employment and that you work for me." Tanya turned from her chair and faced Bella.

Tanya stood up but Bella refused to move back or waver in her eye contact.

"You cross me the wrong way and I can make your life miserable. I won't have my man taken away from me from a hussy like you. Edward would never fall for your tricks anyways." Tanya snarled.

Bella remained silent, much to Tanya's annoyance.

"I'm only keeping you here so you can see what you can't have. You better stay away from Edward." Tanya added.

"I have no interest in Edward." Bella said in a low voice.

"You can say that now. I've caught you and you can't pretend to be the innocent little girl. Don't let me catch you even being near Edward, Bella. You will never be a swan. You are and always will be the ugly duckling. Don't ever forget that." Tanya finished and she left Bella to go back to her vanity.

Bella stood there, clenching her fists.

"You may leave now." Tanya said in a bored voice.

Bella turned stiffly and left the room and had to resist the urge to slam the door. Turning around, she saw Edward standing there with his hands in his pockets. He opened his mouth to say something, but Bella closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears.

"Just please. Stay away from me. I'm trying so hard to just get myself together away from Phoenix and I don't need you ruining it for me. Just leave me alone." Bella pleaded and walked the opposite direction from Edward.

Edward stormed into Tanya's room and glared at her through the vanity.

"What?" Tanya asked.

"You know what." Edward growled.

"I can't discipline my employee? Is that what you're saying to me? Edward, I don't tell you what to do in your office with your employees, so don't tell me what I should be doing with my employee." Tanya brushed at her hair.

Edward remained silent and Tanya sighed, putting her brush down and turned around to look at Edward. She got up and wrapped her arms around him.

"You know your company will flourish with my influences. By marrying me, you can expand your company to new heights. Let's not kid ourselves here. I know that you're only marrying me for your company. And I'm marrying you for the arm candy. You can have any woman out there and I wouldn't care. As long as you don't smear my name and we remain to be the "happy couple" in public, I could care less who you're with. But the one woman you cannot have is Isabella Swan. If you insist on her, then our deal is off and your company can sink into the depths of the ocean. You can wave your father's legacy goodbye and be a disappointment to the family. So what do you say? Keep to your deal? Or are you going to ruin things for your family." Tanya crooned in his ear.

"You're not giving me much choice are you?" Edward said.

"Honey, you always have a choice. It's just which one is better for you? Your company? Or some girl who can't help you out at all. You choose." Tanya put her arm around his shoulders.

"Edward, trust me. You'd be much happier helping out your company and we both know it. Don't even pretend like you'd consider anything else. I'll pretend this incident never happened and we can move on with our wedding plans. Don't you worry about a thing." Tanya used the tip of her finger to flick his nose.

She pranced away from him and Edward sank onto the bed. Edward cradled his head in his hands and groaned.

"Dammit." Edward muttered under his breath.

Edward left the room in search for a drink to wet his suddenly dry mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of brown hair. Looking to his right, he saw Bella trying to dart past him. Reaching out, he grabbed onto her arm to stop her. She looked around to see whether Tanya was anywhere in sight.

"What do you want?" Bella hissed, trying to wrench her arm out of his grasp.

"I don't want that incident with Tanya to hinder whatever we established before or whatever. You know our talks and stuff." Edward said.

"I want nothing to do with you Edward. Sure, before you caught a glimpse of what poor Bella was like and what poor things she had to go through. Don't pretend to feel bad for me. For somebody like you to have a fiancée like Tanya means that you guys must have something in common. Maybe you both like to play people and Tanya's just more outward about it and you're just silently making fun of me. I don't need your pity party or your pretend curiousity about me. Just do us all a favour and just leave me alone!" Bella ripped her arm out of his grip.

"You do your duties as being Tanya's fiancé and I'll be her employee. It's that simple. No need to over complicate things." Bella said.

She left the kitchen in a hurry and Edward slammed his fist into the counter. Edward stormed through the house until he grabbed his keys and left the house. From behind the wall of the kitchen, Tanya stepped out with a slight sneer on her face.

"You can never win against me Swan. I'm the only Queen Bee around here."

* * *

Extra chapter today since I'm not sure whether I'll be able to post any tomorrow. Hopefully you guys like it, and let me know what you think! Tanya is one creepy woman.

Stay tuned!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	7. Chapter 7: Love Drunk

**Chapter 7: Love Drunk**

Edward stumbled into a silent house. He stumbled around in the darkness, trying to find a light but struggled to keep the peace in the house. All of a sudden the lights flooded the hallway, blinding him. When he was finally able to see clearly, he saw Bella standing at the end of the hallway, with her hands on her hips. Trying to make his way to her, he put his hands on the walls to steady himself.

"Are you drunk?" she snapped at him.

She made her way over to him and as if to support his weight, she grabbed onto his arm and tried to make him walk towards his room. Edward stood there, bewildered that she would think he was drunk. He was about to protest when he realized Bella was actually talking to him. Clearing his throat, he swayed a little bit and sank some of his weight into her causing her to grunt.

"Listen I know Tanya's a miserable bitch but it doesn't mean that you have to go out drinking." Bella muttered.

But suddenly she stopped in the middle of the hallway and she dropped Edward like a stone. Looking up at her, she had her hands on her hips and her eyebrows cocked at him.

"Did you drink and drive?"

Edward shook his head and she resumed to pick him up and help him to his room.

"Went drinking 'cause of you." Edward slurred his words to make it seem like he was drunk.

"What are you talking about? You're drunk. You have no idea what's going on." Bella persisted and started up the stairs.

"Want to talk to you." Edward continued, glancing at Bella from the corner of his eye.

"Well we can't talk anymore. Her royal highness decrees it. If we do then..." Bella did a slitting her throat action.

"Talking now." Edward insisted.

"Because the she monster is gone. And you're drunk. And I can't afford you breaking anything from my hard scrubbed house." Bella explained slowly.

They finally reached his room and Bella dumped him onto his bed and she tried to pull the covers on him, but Edward sat up and grabbed her wrist.

"Well since she's not here then it won't be a problem if we talk right?" Edward said.

Bella's mouth dropped open and her gaze turned accusing.

"You tricked me!" Bella said incredulously.

"If that was the only way to talk to you then I would've done whatever you thought I was." Edward insisted.

"Sweet baby Jesus Edward. Why do you insist on getting me in trouble? I don't even understand why you need to talk to me so bad. Is this all part of a trick with Tanya?" Bella asked with her head in her hands.

"It's no trick Bella. I know I'm related to Tanya by our relationship but I'm nothing like her. I promise. I just want to get to know you better." Edward explained.

"You really don't need to get to know me better. Seriously it's great that you want to get to know Tanya's help. But you don't need to get me in trouble. Besides there's nothing about me that could entice you to talk to me and you have Tanya. Go talk to her about her...trophies or something." Bella said and she got up off the bed.

Edward grabbed onto her wrist again and she had no choice but to sit back down.

"You're different. You're not all uptight like Tanya is or as malicious and cunning as she is. You're funny and nice to talk to. I don't want to lose the only sane person around here to her." Edward said.

Bella avoided his gaze and her brows furrowed into a frown.

"I can't lose this job Edward. I don't have enough money yet to be stable. As much as I hate it, I need Tanya's charity."

"Like you said, we can always talk in secret. She doesn't have to know." Edward pressed on.

"She has hawk eyes. She would know everything and anything that goes on." Bella rolled her eyes.

They sat in silence, both gathering their thoughts.

"How did you even meet her?" Bella asked in a small voice.

"Uh, business trip with my dad. She was at the conference and she seemed intelligent and uh, nice I guess at the time with my parents. So we "fell in love". We dated for awhile and then uh, I popped the question." Edward stuttered.

Bella looked at him strangely.

"So what do you do for a living now?" Bella asked.

"I'm opening a company. Something that's going to be under my father's company, but I really want to make it on my own, without his help. People think I'm just flying under the radar under my father's success." Edward said bitterly.

"So you want to prove them wrong." Bella said gently.

Edward nodded.

"So where does the money come from...to start the company I mean. What does your company even do?"

"We're a pharmaceutical company. My dad works at the hospital and he owns the hospital essentially. So I'm opening a business to sell the products to different hospitals. You know expanding our horizons." Edward explained.

"So your father's giving you the money?"

"Uh...yeah. He's giving me the money." Edward said.

"Wow, must be nice to have somebody give you that money to start up a business." Bella said wistfully.

"Yeah." Edward grunted.

They sat for a couple moments of silence when they suddenly heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. Giving each other panicked looks, they looked around the room frantically trying to find a spot for Bella to hide. A knock sounded on the door and Bella let out a little frantic shriek.

"Edward?" Tanya's voice travelled through the door and Edward pushed Bella back onto his bed and underneath his covers. He slipped in under them as well and Bella's head was nuzzling his side.

The door opened the Bella had to stop herself from jumping. Edward feigned sleep and Tanya peered into the room. Seemingly pleased with what she saw, Tanya left the room and both Edward and Bella breathed a sigh of relief. Bella made her way back up the covers only to find herself face to face with Edward. She could feel his soft breath against her face and she couldn't help but glance at his lips. Edward leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Bella closed her eyes and couldn't help but want to reciprocate the kiss. Pushing away from Edward, she jumped out of the bed and put her hands against her lips.

"This is so wrong. You're going to get married to the woman you love and I'm working for the woman you love. We can be nothing more. Just stop." Bella stammered and she left the room in a rush, but remembered to close the door softly.

Bella rushed to her room and she closed the door, locking it. She slid down her door and put her fingers to her lips, still feeling Edward's lips on hers. Closing her eyes, she put her head in her hands and groaned.

* * *

First of all, let me say I'M SO SORRY for not posting anything the past couple of days. I've been stuck, wondering where I should take them next. I know this chapter isn't as great as it could be, but I'm trying! Let me know what you think!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	8. Chapter 8: Out of the Bag

**Chapter 8: Out of the Bag**

The next morning, Edward couldn't catch a glimpse of Bella anywhere. She seemed to have found many ways to avoid him at any cost. Unwilling to be discouraged, he looked into every room trying to find Bella and talk to her about what happened last night. After searching the whole house, he couldn't find a room that seemed to be where Bella stayed. Hearing some sounds from the ceiling, he glanced up to see a trapdoor. Pulling on it, he jumped back when he saw stairs come down. Craning his head to look up, he saw a bed in the corner. Climbing up quietly, he saw a spread of brown hair over the pillow of the bed. Grinning to himself, he realized that he had found the cave of Isabella Swan. He climbed into the attic, and pulled up the stairs so that Tanya wouldn't go and investigate what was going on upstairs. He tiptoed around the room and saw that all that was in it was the bed, a desk and clothes were strewn everywhere in the room. Sitting at the desk, he couldn't help himself but glance at all the paperwork that was scattered on the desk. There were newspaper clippings for apartments for sale and job listings were everywhere.

"What are you doing?" Bella's groggy voice caused Edward to jump up from his seat.

Looking at Bella, he couldn't help but marvel at how cute she looked in the morning. Her hair was tousled in a bird's nest, her eyes were half opened, still filled with sleep and her little yawn was an added bonus. Suddenly feeling self conscious, Bella pulled the covers up and she glared at Edward.

"What. Are. You. Doing. In. Here." Bella bit out through her clenched teeth.

"I just thought where better to ambush you but in your own room?" Edward said while toying with a bobble head on the table.

"How did you even know I was here?" Bella asked.

"Something fell and I was at the right place at the right time. Regardless that's not what I wanted to talk about when I was sneaking into your private domain." Edward said.

Edward cleared his throat and broke his eye contact with Bella.

"Uh, last night. That kiss.." Edward started.

"Should've never happened." Bella interrupted.

Edward's head shot up and stared at Bella, but Bella refused to meet his gaze.

"It was so wrong and we should really just forget it ever happened." Bella said forcefully.

Edward stared at her, flabbergasted.

"Oh c'mon now, even you couldn't deny that spark that happened between us." Edward argued.

Bella's eyes flashed dangerously and she stood up from her bed. She approached Edward and stood toe to toe with him.

"You are going to be married. This should never happen. It never happened and you need to just remember that I'm just the help and your fiancée is downstairs." Bella snapped.

"Well disregarding her, we're awfully close right now." Edward whispered and Bella shivered and she attempted to step back, but Edward wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her back into him.

"Edward!" Bella hissed.

"Oh please, you and I feel it, so what's the harm?" Edward tried to convince Bella.

"Oh so you just want a tussle in bed and that's it? Who cares about your fiancée and stuff." Bella said sarcastically.

"I don't want just a tussle with you Bella. I think you're really cool and I want to get to know you, but I can't deny this attraction to you both sexually and...the other kind." Edward said earnestly.

Bella shoved him away and Edward had no choice but to let her move back and she glared at him.

"Have you no shame or morals? You have a fiancée and did you not hear what I told you? I've been through this before. Do you want me to go back to where I was before? A shameful nobody and this time it would be ten times worse because I KNOW that you have a fiancée and I freakin' work for her!" Bella shrieked.

"First of all, keep it down. Do you want her to come up here and see us here? Second of all, do you think I'd put you in that situation again? I'm not like that dumbass whatever his name was. He did that to you on purpose. I'm here to tell you I'd protect you and that you have nothing to worry about." Edward promised.

"Are you dumb. How would you even protect me? And why would you even do this to Tanya if you're going to marry her? If you claim to love her, you wouldn't be here doing this. Why would you string her along like that? I can't respect a guy who does that to any female regardless of how much of a bitch she is." Bella said with her arms crossed.

Edward gripped his hair in frustration.

"If you don't want her, then cut her loose! I'm not saying that just so you could be with me or anything, but why would you lead her on like that. It's so hurtful to a woman and it disgusts me. I can't even believe you would bring up that option to me when you know how I feel about men like you.." Bella continued.

"I need her to start up my business." Edward blurted out.

Bella froze and she tilted her head sideways.

"Excuse me?" Bella said.

"Well the cat's out of the bag now. My dad won't sponsor even a cent to my business. He said that I should do it myself and find other means of getting the money...even if it means selling my soul to the devil." Edward sat down on Bella's bed with a bitter laugh.

"I met Tanya at that function with my dad. She was nothing but sweet and sugary to us because she knew of our "empire" as she calls it. She wanted to get close to me and marry into the Cullen family so she could have more fame and fortune for being linked to the son of the Cullen fortune." Edward barked out a humourless laugh.

"When she found out I was working under my dad and just doing what he wanted me to with the family business, she urged me to start up my own business. She talked about how proud my family would be of me. How I would outshine Emmett and Jasper." Edward continued.

"Emmett and Jasper?" Bella couldn't help but ask.

"My brothers. They're both very business savvy. They help my dad the most. I'm just there as an ornament so all three sons have a part in the business. When I finally announced to them I was starting my own business, their reactions were mixed. Of course they were shocked but Tanya was right. Everybody was proud that I was going after something else. Something that they expected my brothers to do and not me. It felt good to start something just for myself. But I found that I have no interest in business. It's boring and it's not something I want to do permanently. But I had no choice. I didn't want to disappoint my family, but my dad told me that if I wanted this business, I would have to work for it myself and he wasn't going to help me. So because Tanya wanted to be the wife of a successful businessman, she agreed to pitch in some money with me on the condition that we would marry and I would run the business." Edward explained in a monotone voice.

"So what are you really passionate about?" Bella asked.

Edward thought for a moment before he sighed.

"I really enjoy cooking. I want to be a chef. But that's not a respectable career. It never will be for my family. They have high expectations of me. Starting from when I was in grade school. My brothers always excelled in everything. When I was in elementary school they were in middle school going into high school. They had aced everything and in order to continue their education, we had to move and so I had to leave Forks. They went to an elite school and my family expected me to do the same. But I had no interest in school. I would rather cook a nice meal and sit by the fireplace at night playing with my dog. But no, that wasn't acceptable. So I finished school just like they wanted to and I played their puppet in the business and I got convinced by Tanya that this new business thing would really achieve what I always wanted from my family. Their pride in me." Edward paused.

"Instead. Now I have a loveless marriage and I can't even pursue the one person who intrigues me and I genuinely want to get to know and start a relationship with." Edward grouched and he looked at Bella.

"I must look like some loser who just likes to whine about his life aren't I. I mean I have a very nice life. It's not like I'm stuck on the streets or anything. But for once I just wish I could do something that I want to do." Edward sighed and brushed his hair off his face.

Bella's face softened and she sat beside Edward. She took his hand in hers and he looked at her in surprise. He leaned in closer, his intent clear. Before their lips could touch, Bella slapped her hand over her mouth and moved away. Edward gave her a look of confusion before she rolled her eyes.

"Morning breath." She mumbled.

Edward gave a bark of laughter and pulled her down beside him. He leaned in again and this time Bella let him kiss her softly. They put their foreheads together and Edward let out a sigh.

"Sorry for dragging you into this." Edward said and he sat up.

Bella looked at him thoughtfully and she jumped up.

"Don't move." She instructed.

She rushed downstairs and brushed her teeth in record time, got dressed and made sure that Tanya wasn't around. She went back to her room and she tugged on Edward's hand.

"C'mon, follow me!" Bella said.

"Where are we going?" Edward stumbled, trying to keep up with Bella's pace.

"Somewhere to be you!" Bella answered.

She took Edward's car keys and shoved them into his hand.

"I don't even know where we're going." Edward protested.

"Well I don't drive. So you can follow my instructions." Bella replied and pushed him towards his car.

After driving for awhile, they finally reached their destination. Edward saw a building that didn't look any different from a business building on the outside.

"Where are we?" Edward asked.

Bella tugged on his hand impatiently and urged him forward.

"Just trust me. You'll love it here." Bella said.

When they entered the building, Edward's eyes went huge.

"What the hell?" Edward whispered.

* * *

ooOOOOOooooooOOOh. Where do you think they are? :O So what do you guys think? Love it? Or not so much about Edward's back story? LET ME KNOWW :D Hope you guys liked it, stay tuned! :D

xoxo,

cookiemander


	9. Chapter 9: False Hope

**Chapter 9: False Hope**

Inside, there was a huge kitchen that had every type of grocery and spice stocked up. There was a stove and all the cooking utensils that anybody might need. Edward looked at Bella in shock and she couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face.

"This is a fully functional kitchen at your disposal. C'mon master chef, make me something to eat. I'm starving." Bella teased.

Bella backed away into the shadows and made sure he couldn't see her. She wanted to see him in his element. Edward continued to stare at the kitchen in awe and she muffled a giggle to not alert him of her presence. He finally glanced around, and seemed bewildered that he couldn't see Bella anymore. He gave quick peeks around the room as if to confirm that nobody could see him. He glided his fingers over the appliances gently as if he was afraid they would disappear if he touched them. He seemed to be in a trance and he was cooking furiously, ignoring the world. Bella couldn't help but be enthralled by his attention to detail and his crease in his brows when he concentrated. He cooked in a flurry of activity and he didn't stop to be cautious anymore. He let himself get lost in the world of culinary arts. As interested as Bella was in his passion, Bella's eyelids couldn't stop from closing. Soon, she drifted off smelling the delicious aroma of Edward's meal. After a flurry of activity, Edward finally finished his cooking and he glanced around in search of Bella. He finally caught a glimpse of her in the shadows and approached her quietly. She was sound asleep sitting on her chair. Kneeling beside her, he gently brushed her hair from her face and gazed at her fondly. Bella stirred and she gave a little stretch and seemed to search for him at the kitchen. When she didn't see him, she finally glanced beside her and gave a little jump of fright.

"Sorry. I just wanted to tell you that it's time to eat the meal you've been waiting for." Edward said softly.

Bella nodded and she stretched and took his hand and let him lead her to where he set up the table.

"This looks incredible." Bella said in awe.

On the table Edward had put an assortment of dishes in front of her. Bella tried a little bit of everything and she couldn't help but moan at the flavours that danced in her mouth.

"This is all so good!" Bella exclaimed.

"Thanks. I tried to make it with different textures and spices and flavours to compliment..." Edward trailed off. Bella looked at him expectantly.

"Never mind. It's kind of boring anyways." Edward said sheepishly.

"It's nice to see you talking about what you're passionate about." Bella said with her hands cupping her chin.

Edward blushed and he looked down into his food, waving off Bella's compliments.

"Tanya would never be interested in what I'm interested in." Edward commented casually and Bella shifted uncomfortably.

"Well I mean Tanya's not known for being caring for anybody. So don't take it personal." Bella stammered.

"That's just it though .Tanya doesn't care for anybody but herself. You're different. You actually care about what others feel like and you try to look out for them. How did you even find this place?" Edward asked.

"My parents used to rent this place out for little family dinners. You know to keep their romance alive. Obviously it didn't help, but it was worth the shot. Anyways it's kind of abandoned now. Nobody rents it, but it's maintained by somebody and people can just walk in I guess." Bella answered.

They ate their meal in silence and Edward gave Bella quick glances every so often in between bites.

"Would you consider being with me if I wasn't engaged to Tanya?" Edward suddenly blurted out.

Bella froze and her eyes shot to Edward's. She lowered her gaze and she pushed her food around her plate.

"I don't think that's something we should talk about or bring up. It's not a plausible scenario and we shouldn't play out things that can never happen. I brought you here to help you relieve your wishes of being a chef. It's not to give you any idea of what you want to happen between us. Let's not harbour any false hope." Bella said with a note of finality.

"You don't even see us happening?" Edward pressed on.

"It's not something I'd consider. I don't even think you considered it. It's just something forbidden that you can't do so you want to do it even more. There's no way you're going to get out of your marriage with Tanya and I have no choice but to watch it happen. So let's not give each other any false pretenses that we might actually happen." Bella said in a monotone voice.

Edward fell silent and his facial features slipped into a frown. Bella cleared her throat and she tried to adopt a cheery tone.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me why I don't drive."

Edward glanced up and he gave a half shrug. Bella fell silent again, feeling the awkward tension creep up into the room.

"What if I didn't marry Tanya?" Edward broke the silence.

Bella's eyes went wide and she shook her head frantically.

"Are you out of your mind? Nobody would ever even consider snubbing Tanya like that. Besides you have your company that you want to start. It's not worth it to break it off with her when you want those things in your life." Bella stammered.

"It's not just for you. Don't get me wrong I would do it for you, but I don't want to live a life time of misery and stress with somebody I don't love just because I'm a sell out and I want to do what my parents and everybody expects of me. I didn't really think about that until I met you. I want to do something for me just this once." Edward said.

Bella opened her mouth to respond but her phone rang, cutting her off.

"Sorry." Bella muttered and picked up her phone with a muffled hello.

Tanya's voice could be heard yelling through the phone and Bella winced as Tanya shrieked.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TO DO THE HOUSE CHORES. WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE IS EDWARD? I SWEAR TO YOU IF YOU'RE WITH EDWARD RIGHT NOW I'LL FIRE YOU AND NEVER LET YOU HAVE ANY OTHER EMPLOYMENT ANYWHERE!"

"I'll be right there Tanya." Bella said and she hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"Sorry. Duty calls." Bella stood up and Edward got up to go get his keys.

"No you stay. I called a taxi. You should take a break from Tanya for as long as you can. Besides it would look weird if we went back together. She would have my head." Bella said.

Edward stood up anyways and he planted his lips on Bella's. Bella broke the kiss and her eyes were full of sadness.

"We can't Edward. I wish we could. But we really can't." Bella fled the room and Edward sank back into his chair.

Bella got into the cab with tears in her eyes and she put her head in between her knees and she took in a deep breath to steady herself.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked.

"Tan..." Bella cut herself off.

"I would like to go to my dad's place please." Bella said softly.

"And that would be.." the driver said impatiently.

"Just drive. I'll know it when I see it." She answered.

* * *

Poor Bella and Edward. When will they ever get out of Evil Tanya's grasp? Sigh. Well hope you guys liked it!~ Stay tuned :D

xoxo,

cookiemander


	10. Chapter 10: Know it When I See It

**Chapter 10: Know it When I See It**

Bella knew her father's house when she saw it. The boring red bricks that she had gotten used to all her life before she moved. The rusty pipes that ran from the roof down into the grass to let out the water that accumulated in the house. The shabby roof that seemed to still hold up, but just barely hanging on by the last shingle. Bella peered through the window of the taxi and she gave the driver the money absent mindedly. Getting out of the car, she took a deep breath and marched up to the door. She rang the doorbell and the friendly face of Sue, her now stepmother appeared.

"Bella! What a charming surprise! Come on in!" Sue ushered Bella in and took her coat to hang in the closet.

Bella felt like an intruder in her childhood home. She stood there awkwardly and waited for Sue to direct her to the living room even though Bella knew where it was. She sat on the couch and Sue sat across from her, staring at her expectantly with her hands folded together.

"Uh, I was just wondering whether my dad was here." Bella stuttered awkwardly trying to fill in the silence.

"Oh well Charlie's at the station right now. But I can call him and ask him whether he can come on down." Sue said cheerfully.

Bella stood up in a panic and she waved her hands around.

"No, it's fine I just. I should've called first. I'm so sorry." Bella stammered and she made a move to leave.

Sue stood up as well and she prevented Bella's panicked exit.

"I know you would much prefer talking to Charlie Bella, but I feel like we should talk. We haven't talked really since I got married to your father." Sue said gently.

Bella sat back down with an uneasy feeling creeping up her spine.

"Yeah it's just I've been busy and stuff. Doing stuff." Bella said, shifting her eyes downward.

"Bella I think you're having a hard time grasping my marriage to Charlie. I know my presence will never replace your mom's nor do I want to. I just want to have a healthy and happy relationship with you. If not for us, for Charlie and the family." Sue said calmly and put her hand over top of Bella's.

"I have no problem with you and Charlie. Honestly I could not be happier for you guys. Great job. I'm glad that he has a family he loves. I'm just going to go now..." Bella trailed off when Sue shook her head sadly.

"You're in denial Bella. You feel like Charlie didn't want you and you feel neglected by him. Which I must say is all his fault and he really should sit down and have a talk with you. But what can you do. Men these days don't know how to talk about their feelings and such and such. But I'm here to tell you that your father loves you very very much."

Bella blushed bright red and she stood up again and tried to make a move to leave.

"Now I'm thinking that since you're here to see Charlie, you had a problem you wanted to talk to him about? If you don't mind, you could talk to me and we could start our family bonding time early." Sue suggested and Bella froze in her spot.

"Really. It's nothing. I shouldn't have come here. I should've called first. I don't even know whether I was going to tell Charlie this or not. It's nothing. I'm just going to go now.." Bella stumbled towards the door but Sue put a hand on Bella's shoulder.

"Really. I know we might not be the best of friends, but I want you to trust me. Now that your mom's not here I want you to be able to talk to me about your problems." Sue insisted.

Bella sat back down on the couch and blew her hair form her face. She glanced at Sue warily and she gave a soft sigh.

"What's wrong?" Sue asked softly.

Bella eyed Sue again and she closed her eyes in frustration.

"I..I uh.. had this situation back in Phoenix. It involved a guy...who was in a relationship and I didn't know about it anyways. I got myself in a problem. So I moved...back to you know. Here. Anyways. I promised myself that I would never put myself in that position again. And I didn't. Until I met _him._ Honestly he makes me so irritated sometimes. He doesn't listen to me when I tell him to go away, he doesn't stop asking me questions, he doesn't let me do my work and he is super annoying." Bella huffed in annoyance.

Sue's face was a mask of understanding.

"But..." Sue urged Bella to continue.

Bella's face softened and she had a slight smile on her face.

"But he's attentive to me and he listens to what I say. He cares about my opinion and he wants to learn more about me. He helps me out and he makes me smile and feel better about myself. He makes me feel things that I told myself I should never feel again." Bella said softly.

"So why don't you take a chance with him?" Sue asked.

Bella started to look uncomfortable and unhappy. Sue frowned and shook her head in misunderstanding.

"He's...he's engaged. To...my employer." Bella's head dipped in shame and Sue reached out towards her.

"Oh sweetheart." Sue said softly.

"Yeah I know. I'm dumb. Once bitten twice shy. Obviously not. But I've been trying to separate ourselves. But he's the one that's all like you help me find my passion and blah blah blah and he tries to help me and stuff." Bella tried to explain.

"I see." Sue said thoughtfully.

Bella fell silent.

"I...I don't know what to do. I really do like him. I've kind of come to care for his annoying tendencies. What's more is that he seems to be able to accept my flaws and who I am. But I can't be with him. No matter how much I want to. I don't want to make the same mistake again." Bella scoffed quietly at herself.

"Well dear, I don't think you should write him off your list quite yet. Sounds to me that he's into you and he wants to change for you. He wants to be with you. Maybe you should give him a chance." Sue said.

"What are you talking about? He's engaged. To a woman that can bring him opportunities. I can do nothing for him but be baggage and a burden. Let's be honest here." Bella said.

"Just food for thought Bella. If there is any possibility of you guys being together, you guys should take advantage of it. Don't try to fight a losing battle. Just think about it." Sue patted Bella on the back.

Bella gave a little snort and she stood up.

"Thanks for talking it out with me Sue. I appreciate you sitting there and listening to my problems. I know you guys have enough to worry about with Seth and Leah and Charlie's a handful." Bella grabbed her coat and put on her shoes.

"If you ever need to talk, just remember I'm always here or a phone call away. Don't hesitate to talk to me whenever you need to. You should come by for a family dinner one night. I know your dad would appreciate that. Leah and Seth would love to talk to you too." Sue reminded Bella.

Bella nodded and gave Sue a little wave and left the house. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, she glanced around when she heard her name being shouted. She whirled around to see Edward waving from his car and his mouth forming her name. Bella gave him a wave back with a slight smile on her lips. She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Taking her phone out, she saw that Tanya was calling. She heard her name again and she glanced back at Edward. She played Sue's advice in her head. Taking in a deep breath, she pressed ignore and walked over to Edward's car.

"Hey there stranger." Edward teased.

Bella felt breathless and got into the car.

"Hey." Bella couldn't help the smile spreading across her face.

"Where to?" Edward asked.

Bella put on her seatbelt and shrugged.

"Surprise me."

* * *

Sorrryyyy everybodyyyy... late update tonight, but I won't be able to update tomorrow, soooo I hope you guys like this chapter. DUN DUN DUNNNNN Maybe Bella's giving into Edward and finally ignoring Tanya,...I mean I would've ignored her a longgg time ago..

Anyways let me know what you guys think!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	11. Chapter 11: Just For a Second

**Chapter 11: Just For a Second**

They drove in silence for awhile with Edward sneaking quick peeks at Bella who was staring outside the window already regretting her decision.

"Soooo..." Edward drawled.

Bella turned to look at him.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here at that house?" he asked.

"Visiting." Bella said shortly.

"Visiting somebody special?" Edward pushed on, trying to get Bella to say something more than one word to him.

"My father." Bella finally said after a moment's silence.

Edward felt a jolt of shock but he arranged his features to be neutral.

"Did you guys talk things out?" Edward asked casually.

"He wasn't there. I talked to Sue. His wife." Bella clarified.

"Oh well that must've been nice." Edward commented lamely, mentally smacking himself for the awkward comment.

"Yeah. It was great. Super awkward and informative." Bella said dryly.

Bella cursed herself for making the spontaneous decision of going with Edward. It was a disaster waiting to happen and she wasn't sure whether she could withstand the consequences if Tanya ever found out there were together. Her thoughts were interrupted when Edward veered to a sudden stop at the side of the road. Bella jerked in her seat and she stared at Edward in shock. Edward's fists were clenched and he seemed frustrated. Bella sat in a stunned silence, waiting for Edward to spew his anger.

"Can we..." Edward started to say angrily. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath.

"Can we pretend...just for a second that there was nothing stopping us. That there was no Tanya and no business that we had to worry about and we could just be together just for a second without any of those worries and just try to enjoy ourselves together?" Edward asked softly.

Bella swallowed hard and she raised her hands helplessly.

"It's too dangerous to not think about the consequences and to just go and do it. Getting into this car was a mistake and I shouldn't have done it. I wasn't thinking. I should just grab a taxi and go." Bella stammered but Edward wouldn't let her unlock the door.

"We're going to talk this out now or else you avoid me like the plague any other time. If we don't figure this out now and compromise so we don't both regret it, I don't think you'll ever let us talk it out." Edward said stubbornly.

"There's really nothing to talk about. We're from two different worlds. I'm trying to find my own aspirations and you're trying to make your family proud..our two goals don't match and we don't go well together." Bella grasped desperately at some excuse.

"That was very terribly thought out." Edward said.

Bella opened and closed her mouth like a fish but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I know that us being together is a huge risk for the both of us. But it's just something I want to see whether the spark I felt when we first met is still there and I want to do something for me. And not just for what my family wants me to do." Edward insisted.

"We don't even know if this will work. What if we take the risk and get together, but then it doesn't work out and I lose out and you lose out. It just isn't worth it." Bella shot back.

"Why can't you just take a leap of faith with me Bella? Why can't you just trust me on this?" Edward growled.

"BECAUSE! We have no guarantees that this will work out. What if it doesn't? What are we going to do? I won't have anywhere to stay and you'll disappoint your parents. There's no possible way that this risk is going to be worth it." Bella gritted out, trying to convince both her and Edward.

Edward grabbed Bella's hand and even when she tried to squirm out of his hold, he held tight unwilling to let her slip away.

"Listen to me. Whatever happens we can face together. I just know that we have something and if I let you go we will both regret it. I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen and I want us to be something more. Why can't you see it my way?" Edward asked in frustration.

"If we find something here, wouldn't it all be worth it in the end?" Edward pressed on.

Bella turned her gaze on Edward and her gaze was cold and no emotions seemed to process.

"You're not using your brain to think. You didn't think it out logically. You just think there's this whole romantic thought that could happen but it never will. I thought usually girls think like this, I didn't think that you would think like that too." Bella said.

"What's so bad with wanting happiness for myself?" Edward asked softly and Bella's features softened for a second before her guard went back up.

Bella's lips squeezed together and she refused to say another word.

"When I was younger, I used to idolize my father and my brothers. Not that they had any time for me to talk to them or play with them of course, but just seeing them all professional and business like made me want to be like them. But gradually as I got older and more pressure was set onto me, I realized that this wasn't what I wanted. It was so boring and sad and they never seemed to smile unless they closed a huge business deal. Either way, everything was about their business. They lived breathed and ate business. They rarely had time for fun and they rarely had time for family. I don't want that for myself. I made a huge mistake when I proposed to Tanya merely because I wanted to make them notice me just for on second I wanted them to acknowledge that I was part of their family and that I too could eat breathe and live business. I could be successful without their help and I wanted to prove it." Edward let go of Bella's hand and stared out the window.

"Of course, even before I knew that this wasn't the life for me, but I pushed on and I wanted to just show them something. Something that they could say 'Oh, yes my son/brother created that company all by himself and he's very successful now.' The same way that I talk about them. Don't get me wrong I love them very much and I'm very proud of them but I do wish they would just listen to me for once. Just about what I want to do. What I think about and how I feel about certain situations. I thought that opening this business was going to get me all that recognition and I wanted to feel good about myself in the family. But then I saw you working hard by yourself, and you didn't want to trouble others and you wanted to just follow what you wanted to do without anybody knowing. And I realized that I should really just be happy with what I do and whether they acknowledge it or not, I'm still part of their family and it would be nice to get some acknowledgement, but I would rather them be proud of something that I'm proud of and not what I know that they'll be proud of." Edward trailed off and Bella's heart melted.

"I know that I'm being unreasonable. But if I didn't start doing something for myself I think I might go crazy and I don't even know how I would be able to get out of my shell of a business family to do something I want to do." Edward finished.

He looked at Bella and her facial expression was softer and he grinned.

"Let me take you somewhere." Edward offered.

Bella's expression was suspicious but nonetheless, she nodded.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked as he started up the car and merged with the traffic again.

Edward smiled mysteriously at her and she felt her eyebrows crinkle in confusion.

"We're going to meet my mom."

* * *

This chapter gives a lot more insight in Edward's life and now they're going to see his mom! *gasp*. Hope you guys like it! Stay tuned for Bella meeting Esme! :D

xoxo,

cookiemander


	12. Chapter 12: Meeting Esme

**Chapter 12: Meeting Esme**

"We're what?" Bella shrieked, causing Edward to jump a little in his seat.

"We're going to see my mom. The only person in the whole family who's supported me and paid any attention to me." Edward repeated, this time with less confidence and more caution.

"I don't want to meet your mother! I'm not dressed to meet your mother! I'm not ready to meet your mother...We're not even going out!" Bella continued to rant and Edward had to restrain his urge to cringe.

"This isn't any meet the parents meeting or anything like that. This is just the person that I go to when I need to think things out and I need help to you know...think things out." Edward said.

Bella took in a couple of deep breaths to calm herself before she started to rub her temples.

"Do you even understand how angry Tanya will be? I was supposed to be at the house hours ago and now I'm frolicking with you apparently to see your mother. Tanya's going to kill me." Bella complained.

"Don't worry about that. I called her and said that you had some family issues to deal with. Which I suppose is true now that we're going to see the family." Edward reassured her.

"Sure that's great for you, but when I get back there, she'll want my head on a silver platter!" Bella exclaimed, more nervous than ever now.

"Nobody will want your head anywhere but on your shoulders. Don't you worry about a single thing. This visit with my mother will clear everything up." Edward said firmly.

Bella opened her mouth to protest but she got sidetracked when she saw them approaching some gates that were protecting a mansion that seemed to loom over the whole road. Bella couldn't contain her sharp intake of breath and her eyes grew wide as she realized that she only saw part of the house.

"Yeah. This monster is what they achieved." Edward said bitterly beside her.

Bella turned to look at him, surprised to see him look embarrassed and ashamed.

"Obviously they don't try to blend in. They try to stand out as much as possible." Edward muttered.

"This place could hold a small village with the size of it. Who even lives here other than your parents?" Bella asked cautiously.

"Well it's really just my mom. My dad's out doing business and my brothers are right there with him, working on business deals and stuff. I rarely live here, being the baby of the family and all. I travelled around the world trying to get in some experience from other place and not just from my dad. My brother's girlfriends live here too sometimes. But each of my brothers have their own place to live." Edward explained as he punched in the code for the gates.

The gates opened and Bella couldn't help but imagine that she was a princess going into her castle. The driveway was long and seemed to never end but Edward parked right in front of the doorway of the mansion. Unable to wait for Edward to open the door for her to go explore the place, she hopped out of the car and her jaw dropped at how tall and wide the house was.

"I obviously do not live with modest people." Edward grumbled softly but Bella ignored him, still taking in the sheer size of the home.

"C'mon. We better go in before somebody sees us out here and then they have the upper hand." Edward took Bella's hand in his and pulled her towards the front door.

Bella stopped suddenly and jerked Edward to a stop.

"I am not even dressed to go in there. There has to be some sort of dress code they expect and I am most definitely not it." Bella gestured to herself and grabbed at her ratty old t-shirt and her ripped jeans.

Edward continued to tug her forward and urged her towards the door.

"You're fine. You're with me and it was a surprise. They won't shame you to death." Edward insisted.

"Oh please, they're willing to shame you to death so why wouldn't they shame a stranger to death." Bella snapped at him.

"They don't shame me to death. They ignore me. There's a difference." Edward said dryly and Bella blushed.

They finally made it to the front door and Bella tried to brush down her hair and make herself look presentable.

"Stop that. You're fine. If anything, they'd be ashamed of my appearance." Edward reassured her.

Bella's face paled as Edward unlocked the door and walked into the house. The interior was just as impressive as the exterior was. The foyer was brightly lit and a chandelier hung from the ceiling. Following the direction of the chandelier, there was a long marble staircase that had a gold railing. There were large paintings that seemed to be from famous people, but Bella really had no idea who they were. She was so focused on her study of the paintings, she missed the woman coming down the marble staircase with a surprised look on her face.

"Edward?" her voice seemed to echo in the room and Bella jumped from her spot to look at the woman.

She had brunette hair that reached a little bit passed her shoulders. She wore a cream dress and wore her hair up in a bun. Her shoes clacked across the surface of the stairs and floor to rush to greet Edward. She gave Edward an enthusiastic hug and then turned to Bella.

"You brought a girl home? You never bring a girl home. You didn't even bring Tanya here!" his mother exclaimed.

Bella stepped forward with her hand outstretched.

"Hi, I'm Bella." She introduced herself.

Esme ignored the outstretched hand and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm Esme, Edward's mom."

Bella looked slightly uncomfortable when she pulled away, but she rearranged her features to a smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Nice to meet you." Bella said politely and Edward covered his laugh with a cough causing Bella to glare at him.

"Are you staying for dinner dear?" Esme asked making Bella look back at her.

"Uh…" Bella stuttered.

"Yeah we are. Are Jazz and Em home?" Edward asked peering up the stairs.

"They're in their offices talking about some businesses merger. Go on up now." Esme pushed Edward slightly towards the stairs and Bella gave him an encouraging smile.

Edward smiled and bounded up the stairs, leaving Bella with Esme. Bella shifted uncomfortably and Esme steered her towards the kitchen.

"Us womanfolk should go talk in the kitchen where the boys can't hear us." Esme winked at Bella.

They entered the kitchen and Bella was surprised to see that it wasn't as grand as the rest of the house seemed to be. It was just the same kitchen that Charlie had in his house, if not even less with the appliances and tools to cook.

"Carlisle wanted to keep the kitchen as simple as possible so Edward could focus on his studies and not in the kitchen." Esme said and Bella could detect a tinge of embarrassment in her voice.

Esme gestured for Bella to sit down at the table and Esme poured a glass of water for her. She sat down across from Bella and looked at her expectantly.

"So how did you and Edward meet?" Esme asked eagerly.

Bella stared at the woman in mild amusement. Here she was, somebody who wasn't her son's fiancée and she wanted to know how they met, not why she was there.

"I…I work for Tanya. We went to school together, but we didn't see each other again until Tanya introduced us." Bella admitted and Esme nodded.

"Did Edward tell you why he decided to marry Tanya?" Esme asked casually and Bella nodded staring at her glass meekly.

"I just don't know why that poor boy tries so hard. I keep telling him to do something that he loves and to live for him, not for his brothers or his father. He really should be his own person and that he shouldn't need to try so hard. We still love him as if he were our own." Esme said with a sigh.

Bella stared at Esme in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked with a frown.

Esme looked surprised and she looked at Bella.

"Didn't Edward tell you? He's adopted."

* * *

*GASP!* Maybe this gives us all some insight as to why Edward tries so hard to impress everybody not only because of his father?! hmmmmmm...

Let me know what you guys think!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	13. Chapter 13: Attack of the Brothers

**Chapter 13: Attack of the Brothers**

Bella blinked a couple of times unsure as to what she heard.

"I'm sorry. He's what?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"He's adopted. He was left on our doorstep one night and nobody came back to claim him. So he became our son. He found out when he was going into middle school and since then he's always tried to do something with business, but that's just not Edward at all. I suppose it doesn't help that Carlisle and the boys are too busy with their business to try to tell Edward that they love him regardless, but they wouldn't care if he wasn't part of the business. It's just some weird twisted part of Edward that thinks that by including himself in their business it would bring them closer. I just wish they would set him straight so Edward wouldn't have to marry that god awful Tanya." Esme ranted and Bella's eyes grew wide.

"You mean all this time Edward's worries and attempts were for nothing?" Bella asked in a whisper, glancing so often at the doorway to make sure Edward wasn't standing there.

"I told him before that it didn't matter what he did we still love him. But it didn't help that Carlisle decided to downgrade the kitchen because he thought that it would be distracting to Edward not because he wanted to discourage it, but he thought that it would be best if Edward could finish school first." Esme explained.

"What are you girls talking about in here? About us dashing men?" a booming voice sounded in the kitchen, startling Bella so badly that she spilled her water all over herself.

Bella glanced up to see a hulking bear of a man standing at the doorway. He had broad shoulders, short blonde hair and his eyes twinkled in amusement. Esme gasped and grabbed some paper towels and dabbed at Bella's shirt and Edward punched the guy on the arm and approached Bella.

"Bella, this is my brother Emmett." Edward pointed at the guy with the booming voice who had an apologetic look on his face.

"Hi there." Emmett said in a softer voice this time and Bella waved to him while trying to dab at her soaked shirt.

"Hi. If you'll excuse me now I'm just going to go dry my shirt by blowing on it." Bella backed out of the room, bright red with embarrassment and tried to find the bathroom.

Edward appeared beside her and pulled her up the stairs. Reaching the landing, she stood in a hallway that had multiple rooms and Edward poked his head into one of the rooms.

"Jazz? There's somebody I'd like you to meet." Edward announced and a man with brown hair appeared. He was less built than Emmett, but he certainly was no twig. Bella's breath caught in her throat and she gave him a small wave.

"Bella, this is my other brother Jasper. Jasper, Bella." Edward introduced and Jasper gave Bella a broad smile.

"I thought I heard Emmett scaring somebody down there. I just didn't know it was you." Jasper chuckled and Bella felt her face light up in a blush again.

"I'm going to get her something dry to wear." Edward said and steered Bella away from his brother. Jasper gave her a wave and disappeared back into his room.

Edward led Bella to a room that had a door that was painted bright green which reminded Bella of Edward's eyes. But as she looked around the other doors, they were all plain white and bland. Edward's door was the only door that was a different colour. At Bella's raised eyebrow, Edward groaned.

"We had to repaint everything during my rebellious time. Of course they wanted this dull white colour and I wanted to stand out because I was oh so cool back then. So then I painted it this bright colour and now people find it weird. And they think that there's some jewels in there or something. My room would probably be the first room to be robbed because it stands out like that. Besides, my brothers were teasing me about being boring and unimaginative. So this was the result of that." Edward muttered and opened the door.

Bella looked around his room and saw that it was like any old room. Granted, the things inside the room was more luxurious, but everything in there was what a normal boy's room would have. He had a leather couch on one side of the wall and his bed was in the middle of the room. His desk was next to the bed and his computer faced his bed so he could sit on his bed and surf the net. Against the other wall, he had multiple book cases. To the left, she saw a walk-in closet and he had a balcony further into the room. So maybe it wasn't a typical room, but Bella was enthralled by his bookcase. Walking closer to it, she saw that he had CD's stacked everywhere and books mixed into the book case. Running her fingers across the spine of the books, she was startled when Edward emerged from his walk in closet to give her a shirt. Looking behind him, she saw that inside the walk in closet, he had tons of clothes that were in colour coordinated order.

"That's Alice's fault. She's the fashion nut in the family and she reorganized everything to the point where I want to throw up every time I go in there." Edward defended himself.

"Alice?" Bella asked as she took the shirt from Edward. It was a t-shirt, and she had to hold herself back from sniffing it like an addict.

"Jasper's girlfriend slash fiancée. She loves things like that." Edward said while trying to pick up some clothes that were out of place.

"The bathroom's over there if you want to get changed." Edward scratched his head awkwardly and Bella walked over to his bathroom.

The bathroom was a typical male's. There was nothing in there that was even remotely feminine. Closing the door behind her, she began to snoop in the drawers and shelves. All she found was Edward's cologne and deodorant. She couldn't help herself as she sniffed all of them and even sniffed his shampoo.

"Are you okay?" Edward's voice travelled through the door and Bella froze in the middle of her sniffing.

"I am so freaking creepy." Bella scolded herself under her breath.

"Yeah I'll be out in a minute." Bella called back to Edward.

She stripped out of her wet shirt and put on his t-shirt and listened to see whether there were any sounds outside the door. Making sure that the coast was clear, she took in a deep whiff of his scent on his shirt. She closed her eyes, savouring the scent and then snapped herself out of it.

"I really need to get some help." She muttered to herself.

When she came out of the bathroom wearing Edward's shirt, she saw Edward sitting on his bed scrolling through something on his computer. When his eyes caught Bella's, he glanced at her shirt and his eyes grew smouldering. Feeling a little self conscious, Bella caught a glimpse of a hoodie and hastily put that on.

"If you want we can rejoin your family now." Bella said in a shaky voice.

"Really? Because I'd much rather hide up here.." Edward's velvet voice made her want to groan out loud.

Edward was suddenly beside Bella and she could feel his warm breath against her neck. Just as he was about to make the move to kiss her, a knock sounded at the door causing them to knock their heads together.

"Edward! Stop hogging Bella. I want to play." Emmett's voice grouched from the other side of the door.

Edward growled at his brother under his breath and Bella didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the interruption. Without waiting for Edward's approval, Emmett bounded into the room and Bella jumped away from Edward.

"Alright Eddieward, I'm stealing her away from you!" Emmett said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to what he interrupted.

Bella sent Edward a pleading glance, but Edward was too busy pressing his fingers at his temples with his eyes closed to notice. Emmett swept Bella into his arms and left Edward's room.

"C'mon Belly beans, I want you to talk to me and Jazz." Emmett said in a sing song voice.

"Uh. What." Bella said in a slightly panicked voice.

Emmett carried her to Jasper's room and kicked open the door, much to Bella's horror. Jasper glanced up from his magazine and grinned while taking in both Bella and Emmett's expressions.

"Welcome, Bella to my humble abode." Jasper said graciously and Emmett dumped Bella onto Jasper's bed.

Bella glanced around and saw that Jasper had posters of military battles and maps all over the walls. But the room was painted bright pink. She also saw female clothing strewn all over the room and she knew that Alice must have attacked this room too.

Emmett and Jasper sat in front of Bella on the bed, staring at her expectantly.

"Well?" Emmett asked as he jumped up and down on the bed causing Bella to grip onto the covers.

"Well what you big oaf?" Bella said in frustration.

"What do you want with our Eddieward?" Emmett clarified.

"I don't want anything with your…Eddieward.." Bella replied with a slight grimace at the nickname.

"You know he doesn't bring girls home. Only Tanya. And only then it was because she bullied him into it. You're the first girl he's willingly brought home." Jasper observed quietly and Bella blushed and looked down at her hands.

"So you work for the she monster. Is she as demanding as they claim?" Emmett leaned forward eagerly, trying to hear the details.

"She's even worse." Bella said with a slight smirk on her face.

"Wow can you imagine Edward being married to that?" Emmett stuck out his tongue.

Bella stared at him with her eyebrows raised.

"You know why he's marrying her right?" Bella asked, looking from Emmett and Jasper.

"I think everybody knows that we know except for Edward himself." Jasper said wryly.

"Then why has nobody talked him out of it." Bella asked with her voice slightly raised.

"Because he's a bone headed freak who doesn't like to listen to others and thinks that he'll gain any sort of approval through this marriage. He's just going to be miserable." Emmett nodded earnestly.

"Then if you care about your brother so much, maybe you guys should do something about it and tell him how much he means to you guys instead of focusing on the business and make him think that he is worth more than your papers and business deals." Bella burst. She put her hands to her mouth and her eyes went wide.

"I did not mean to say that. At all. I'm sure that you guys tell him…" Bella tried to say.

"You're right. We put business before him a lot of times even if we don't mean to. But years of habit is hard to break and it's even harder to break to him. He genuinely thinks that for us to be proud of him, he needs to start a business and be like us when we want nothing of that sort. You don't even know how many times we try to tell him that but he's insistent and I don't know he's kind of certain that this is the solution. At least until he met you." Jasper stared at Bella knowingly and she blushed again.

"I haven't done anything we aren't supposed to. I don't even know why he suddenly changed after he met me. It's just strange and I didn't do anything I swear." Bella held up her hands in surrender.

Jasper and Emmett glanced at each other and gave a quick nod causing Bella to be suspicious.

"Here's the deal little blue cheese. We need your help in convincing Edward that he's just fine doing whatever it is he wants to do." Emmett said, waving off Bella's protests at being called that name.

"I don't even know how to help him. I'm just here against my will and I am so getting fired by Tanya." Bella huffed.

"Who cares about that blue bells, what we need is for Edward to be happy again and you seem to be the only person who can give him that right now." Emmett said impatiently.

"So?" Bella asked, still not understanding their meaning.

"So, we want you to become Edward's girlfriend to lure him away from the she monster." Emmett concluded with a smile on his face and looking weirdly proud of himself.

Bella opened her mouth to protest but stopped when the door opened revealing another man behind the door.

"Hey dad." Emmett greeted him cheerfully as Bella's breath got caught and panicked.

Looking back at the man at the door, she offered a shaky smile and she gulped. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Here's another chapter since I didn't update for a couple of days...hopefully this keeps you guys in da loop! Hope you guys liked this chapter, I'm not going to lie I'm loving Emmett's nicknames for Bella! Stay tuned!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	14. Chapter 14: Dinner Tensions

**Chapter 14: Dinner Tensions**

Bella stood up off the bed and stuck out her hand awkwardly.

"Hello Mr. Cullen. I'm Isabella Swan." She said lamely and shrivelled up inside when he glanced at her hand with a raised eyebrow.

"I suppose you have me at a disadvantage since I have no idea who you are and why you're in my home." Carlisle said in a bored voice.

"See?" Bella turned to Jasper and Emmett with her hand pointing at Carlisle.

"This is how normal people react to a random person in their house. Both you guys and your mom are just abnormal people." Bella threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Trust me, Mr. Cullen. I've been asking myself and your sons the same question. What the hell am I doing here. I have no clue. I'm just here as an unwilling prisoner." Bella exclaimed loudly and Edward appeared behind his father.

"You're here as my guest." He said and shot a glare towards his father.

"Guest or not, I would like to know why she's here and Tanya isn't. I also would like to know why she's wearing your clothes." Carlisle said with his eyebrows raised and Bella blushed and frowned.

"It was my fault. I scared little B over here and she spilled water all over herself." Emmett said quickly and Bella shot him a grateful look.

"Hm. Clumsy and unprepared." Carlisle gave Bella one last glance before leaving the room.

Bella blushed and Edward growled under his breath. Even Jasper and Emmett moved to flank Bella and they had apologetic looks on their faces.

"He's a little rude to new people. Don't worry I'm sure he'll warm right up to you." Jasper patted Bella on the back and left the room.

Emmett gave her a pat on the back as well and he too walked out of the room.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know he was coming home for dinner. He usually doesn't. This is a very rare occurrence." Edward said with a slight tinge on his cheeks.

"It's fine. I'm a big girl. A little mumble here and there won't hurt me." Bella insisted and urged him out of the room.

They walked down the stairs and Esme greeted them with a strained smile.

"Dinner's on the table." She said.

They all sat down at the table feeling the tension in the air. Edward pulled the chair out for Bella and seated her next to Emmett. He sat next to her and Jasper sat on the other side of the table with Esme. Carlisle seated himself at the head of the table and they all started to eat. Bella picked at her food, but she forced herself to put a couple of bites into her mouth and quietly complimented Esme on her cooking. Throughout the whole meal, she felt the awkward silence and she felt Carlisle's curious stare on her.

"So Edward. What brings you here? With Bella no less." Carlisle's voice interrupted the silence and Bella's head shot up and looked at Edward uneasily.

Edward's mouth tightened into a thin line and he looked up towards his father.

"Bella's here as a guest and as my friend." He said stiffly.

Bella saw Emmett and Jasper exchange glances and Emmett cleared his throat.

"Not now Emmett. Does Tanya know about this?" Carlisle asked, waving Emmett away.

Edward stayed silent and Carlisle's lip curled up.

"Edward you know you have responsibilities. You shouldn't be spending your time frolicking with some girl and not your fiancée." Carlisle said and Esme gave a little huff of disapproval.

"Really Carlisle. At the dinner table? Can you at least let us finish our dinner in peace?" Esme glared Carlisle and he put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm only stating the facts here. Edward's due to get married soon and all of a sudden he's taking another girl home?" Carlisle stated and put his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together, giving Edward a disapproving look.

"With all due respect sir…" Bella tried to say but Carlisle shot her a sneer.

"I wasn't speaking to you. I was speaking to my son who has yet to explain to me why he's disrespecting his fiancée." Carlisle said without taking his eyes off of Edward.

Edward's fists clenched and Bella fell silent, appalled at Carlisle's attitude.

"Carlisle! Bella is a guest here whether you like it or not. You would do us all a favour if you would just stop talking for the duration of her stay." Esme scolded and Carlisle shrugged his shoulders and resumed eating as if nothing happened.

"Maybe I should just go.." Bella whispered to Edward and he shook his head lightly.

"Maybe you should and stop creating chaos in Edward's life." Carlisle chimed in and Esme stood up with her hands on her hips.

"Carlisle Cullen. If you can't be nice you can leave this dinner table and we can continue this night without you. I'm sure everybody would feel more comfortable that way." Esme said with sparks shooting from her eyes.

"Well then I suppose this is my cue to leave. Have a good night everybody." Carlisle stood from the dinner table and Bella kept her eyes lowered to her plate.

"Edward, I expect you to come see me tomorrow morning at the office. 8 o'clock sharp." he said and Edward clenched his jaw, but he nodded nonetheless.

The room was silent as Carlisle strolled out of the kitchen and it seemed like everybody let out a sharp intake of breath when he left the room.

"Well that was awfully uncomfortable." Emmett cheerfully said and started shovelling food into his mouth.

Jasper gave a faint laugh and he too started back on his food. Bella continued to push her food around and Edward sat beside her, ramrod straight and uncomfortable. Esme reached over the table as if to comfort Edward, but he tucked his hands out of sight and Esme gave a little sigh of despair. All that could be heard was Emmett's wolfing down of his food and Edward quietly excused himself from the table. Esme got up as if to follow him, but Bella stood up instead and followed Edward up the stairs. Bella peered into his room and saw him laying on his bed with his hands covering his eyes. Closing the door gently behind her, she sat on the bed, across from him.

"I just don't understand why he can't support my decisions and understand where I'm coming from. I'm only doing this whole business thing just to get his attention and to make him proud of me, but it's like he wouldn't even care anyways." Edward grumbled.

"Well to be fair, I think you caught his attention tonight, bringing me here." Bella reasoned.

"Well it certainly didn't make him proud." Edward said, still not removing his arm from his eyes.

"Well he thinks I'm so man eater and that I'm going to take you away from Tanya." Bella joked.

"Well you are." Edward shot back and pulled Bella into his arms so that they were laying side by side with Edward's arms around her.

He nuzzled her neck with his face and burrowed himself within her hair.

"Edward! What if your father walks in? He already has the wrong idea of us. I don't want him to be even more mistaken." Bella scolded him and tried to scoot out of his grasp, but Edward held on, unwilling to let Bella leave.

"Who cares? I'm really considering breaking off that engagement with Tanya." Edward's voice was muffled from being burrowed in Bella's hair.

"You are?" Bella paused her movements and tried to look at Edward.

Edward nodded and Bella lay there in silence.

"Edward?" Bella whispered.

Edward lifted his head from his spot to look at Bella.

"Nevermind." Bella hastily mumbled and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Hey Bella?" Edward said, making Bella open her eyes and look at Edward.

"If I break things off with Tanya, would we be able to be together?" Edward asked in a soft voice.

Bella averted her eyes and remained silent for awhile before glancing back at Edward.

"Yeah. I think we might have a shot of making it." Bella finally said and Edward broke into a huge smile.

He wrapped Bella more tightly in his embrace and Bella tried to get out again.

"You haven't broken up with her yet…we really shouldn't…" Bella tried to say.

"Just for tonight. Just let me hold you like this." Edward interrupted her and Bella fell silent.

She felt Edward's heartbeat settle and his breathing become slow and steady. Listening to his breathing, she felt her eyelids slowly droop. Soon, she too fell asleep. They didn't notice the door opening a bit and Carlisle peering in with a scowl on his face. He went back to his office and pulled out his phone.

"Tanya? It's Carlisle. There's something you should know."

* * *

Carlisle is so mean! And such a shit disturber. But don't worry. I think Edward might fight for himself this time. Hope you guys liked it!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	15. Chapter 15: The Showdown

**Chapter 15: The Showdown**

Bella woke up to find herself pinned to the bed by a heavy arm. Looking behind her, she saw Edward's sleeping face beside her and she couldn't help but grin. She had never felt so at peace and well rested since leaving Phoenix. Stretching, she made no move to shove Edward's arm off. In fact, she wanted to bask in this fairytale a little while longer before all hell broke loose with Tanya. She snuggled deeper into Edward's arms and he tightened his grip on her.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this just cozy." Bella stiffened in Edward's arms and she realized her nightmare had come true.

Bella opened her eyes to find Tanya sneering down at her and Edward. Bella elbowed him and Edward grunted and gave a huge yawn.

"What's up?" Edward grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

He stared up at Tanya looming over them and his father standing at the doorway with a disapproving look, he realized what had happened.

"I see. Well this is great that you're all here. Because I have an announcement to make. Right after I use the bathroom. Because I need to do that." Edward said, getting out of the bed.

He gave Bella a quick kiss on the cheek causing her to blush furiously and he went over to his bedroom door, indicating that Tanya should get out.

"If anybody should leave this room, it should be this skank laying over there with my fiancé." Tanya pouted.

"You can go now into the living room where we'll be down shortly." Edward said calmly and shooed her out the door.

He closed the door with a snap and he breathed a sigh.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know my dad would do that." Edward said apologetically.

Bella, still bright red made a little noise in her throat, but made no move to move from her position. Edward approached her on the bed and cupped her cheek in his palm.

"I've thought about this a lot since meeting you. There's no point letting them control my lives. I've gotta just do what I need to do and that's breaking off the engagement and doing something I'm happy with. Don't worry about a single thing Bella. Just trust me on this." Edward insisted and he gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

Bella frowned, but she didn't say anything to discourage him. Edward went over to his bathroom and right as he closed the bathroom door, his bedroom door opened revealing Emmett and Jasper. Emmett bounded in and Jasper slowly walked in with a slight grimace on his face.

"The evil she-queen is here! Has Edward said what he's going to do yet?" Emmett asked Bella, making himself comfortable on the bed.

"He's in the bathroom right now." Bella said pointedly and Emmett shrugged, uncaring to what she said.

Jasper seated himself at the computer chair, but he didn't say anything. When neither of them showed signs of leaving, Bella rolled her eyes.

"I don't really know what he's going to do. He says that he's going to break it off with her, but you can never really know can you?" Bella whispered to the two.

"Well that's better than what's been happening lately. He's been rolling over doing whatever my dad wants." Jasper whispered back.

Edward emerged from the bathroom, surprised to see his brothers sitting with Bella.

"Well are you guys ready to see a show?" Edward asked cheerfully and Emmett raised his eyebrows at his nonchalance.

"Sure, we're ready for it whenever you are Eddieward." Emmett got up off the bed and pushed him towards the door.

"I need to use the bathroom." Bella excused herself and headed to the bathroom.

Needing to brush her teeth and seeing no other option other than to use Edward's toothbrush, she gave her teeth a quick brush over and decided that there was not much else she could do to her appearance. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the bathroom and Emmett seemed to be unable to sit still.

"Let's go! I've been waiting for this moment my whole life!" Emmett said excitedly.

"Your whole life? That's really weird..and creepy." Jasper commented and Emmett ignored him, shoving him towards the door.

They descended the stairs and Bella felt everybody's eyes on them. She looked up to see Esme with her hands clasped together at the side with a hopeful expression on her face. Carlisle stood at the fireplace by himself and Tanya sat stiffly at the side, with a snide expression on her face.

"Well isn't this festive. It's like it's Christmas!" Emmett bounded down the stairs and sat down on the couch.

Bella was surprised he didn't have a bag of popcorn with him to watch the show. Bella decided that she was going to sit next to him because he was the most carefree of the group and made feel the least awkward. At least until he started asking questions about her and Edward's relationship. Jasper moved to sit beside Bella so she felt sheltered between the two guys and waited for Edward to start. Edward had a pale exterior but he cleared his throat and moved to the center of the room.

"I have decided to break off my engagement to Tanya." Edward said in one breath and the reactions around the room were as expected.

Esme looked relieved, Emmett was excited, Jasper didn't have an expression, and Tanya looked appalled. But Carlisle's expression was undecipherable and Bella was suspicious of his intentions.

"You can't do this! Carlisle! You can't let him do this! I will not be shunned this way! We had an agreement and I intend to see it through!" Tanya screeched and Emmett put his hands over his ears.

"It was an agreement made out of desperation at the time. I've decided not to let it rule me and I have needed to do what's best for me." Edward firmly said.

"Carlisle!" Tanya stood up and walked towards Carlisle.

"Now, now Edward you had a deal to uphold and now you want to void it? That's an awful shame." Carlisle said and Edward glared at his father.

"This is my decision and I won't let anybody else influence it." Edward said and Bella was surprised he didn't stomp his foot.

"You're dumping me for HER?" Tanya shrieked, pointing at Bella rudely.

"This really has nothing to do with anybody else. This is my decision and my decision only. I'd ask that everybody respect it and if you could stop making a scene." Edward explained slowly as if talking to a four year old.

Tanya looked desperately to Carlisle who was staring at Edward impassively and stomped her foot. She stormed towards where Bella was and Edward took a step in her direction. Emmett and Jasper immediately sat up to jump in if necessary.

"Isabella Swan. You…You…skank! You couldn't be happy with taking another person's man in Phoenix so you had to come to Forks to take my man?! Are you kidding me right now?! I told you what would happen if you still insisted on being with Edward. You don't even have to think about finding a job ANYWHERE else. I'll ruin you. You will never be able to live here in Forks. I'll air all your dirty laundry and everybody in Forks will identify you as a lying slut who can't get out of other people's boyfriend's beds. You don't even have to think about trying to make a living for yourself here." Tanya shrieked causing Bella to cringe backwards into the couch.

"Tanya! That is quite enough." Esme's sharp voice stopped Tanya from continuing her advance towards Bella.

"Edward has made his decision so I think it's a good time for you to leave now." Esme continued.

"If you would like to have a more civilized conversation you are welcome to, but as of right now, I think we all need some time to digest this information and for you to cool down." Esme finished and stood up, showing Tanya to the door.

Tanya looked around, desperate for a friendly face to help her, waiting for Carlisle to say something. When nobody helped her, she gave Bella and Edward a spiteful look.

"You think that people will accept you guys together? What can you even offer you ugly duckling? You have no money, no power, no job. You have nothing compared to me. You think that Edward's family will be okay with you guys? Think again. Carlisle was the one who called me here and obviously he certainly doesn't want you guys together." Tanya hurled at them.

"If you're quite done having a temper tantrum, I believe my mother is showing you the door." Jasper calmly stood up and gave Tanya a gentle nudge.

"This isn't the last of me. You guys will never have a happy ending." Tanya spat out with venom rich in her voice.

She left the room with storm clouds following her. Everybody in the room stayed silent.

"Well I can't say that her temper tantrum wasn't unexpected. But damn. That girl. Glad you got rid of her Eddieward." Emmett said and stood up.

"Did you break off that engagement because of her?" Carlisle asked softly and Bella froze in her spot.

"I broke off the engagement because it wasn't something I was happy with anymore. I wasn't happy with what my future looked like and I sure as hell didn't want to be trapped in that nonsense." Edward stated in a harsh voice.

"I see." Carlisle said thoughtfully.

"Well since you seem to be serious about this girl, maybe it's good for me to say this now. To warn you. I will never accept this girl into the family. What Tanya said was correct. She has no social class, no job, no money, no status. Nothing. She can bring nothing to this family. At least with Rose and Alice they each bring their own distinct talents to the table. Alice has her fashion and Rose has her mechanics shop and she is of high social class. I urge you to reconsider Edward. I'm sure Tanya would take you back." Carlisle said much to the horror of the rest of the family.

Everybody's mouths dropped open except for Edward and Bella. Bella looked down at her hands uncomfortably at the truth and Edward clenched his jaw and his fists.

"Who I choose to be with is really none of your business. I thought you would want for me to be happy." Edward gritted out.

"What I want is for you to be successful in whatever you choose to be. I want your wife to match the same status that you have and same success as you have. Not some girl who can't find a job to support herself." Carlisle said with his hand on Edward's shoulder.

Edward shrugged Carlisle off and glared at him angrily.

"I'm an adult now. I can make my own decisions and I have made the decision to break the engagement off with Tanya. You can't influence me like this anymore." Edward growled and he left the room almost as angrily as Tanya did.

Carlisle looked around the room in mild interest. He ignored everybody's look of horror and he cleared his throat quietly.

"Well good day to you all." He said and he too walked out of the room.

"Uh. Little B. I'm sure he didn't mean that. He's just frustrated with Edward not choosing the path that he wants. He'll come around." Emmett comforted Bella.

Bella shook her head.

"Whatever it is, I have no interest in. All I'm interested in right now is to see whether Edward's okay. So if you can excuse me. I'll just go now." Bella said quietly and she left the room in search of Edward.

Esme stared at the doorway where they had left through and she sighed with a sad smile on her face.

"I really hope they pull through with this." She said to Emmett and Jasper.

"Don't worry Ma. Dad knows what he's doing. Edward's a big boy. He can figure these things out for himself. And I think Bella's good for him. He's finally standing up for himself." Jasper reassured Esme and put his arm around her.

"I sure hope so. I worry for them so much." Esme fretted.

"That ended way too soon. I was expecting fireworks and everything." Emmett complained.

Jasper hit him on the back of his head.

"C'mon Ma, we'll help you make your world famous cookies. I'm sure we could all use some." Jasper said soothingly and they went to the kitchen.

* * *

Four chapters in two days?! Gosh! I'm really spoiling you guys! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, Carlisle is being so annoying! Hm, I wonder what his reasoning is? I guess we'll find out soon!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	16. Chapter 16: Girlfriend?

**Chapter 16: Girlfriend?**

Bella looked into Edward's room to find it vacant. Surprised, she walked in to find the balcony doors open. Moving cautiously, she approached the doors and poked her head out. She saw no sign of Edward anywhere. She did see a ladder that was in the direction of the roof. She climbed the ladder and she saw Edward laying there on the roof, staring into the sky. Quietly so she didn't startle him, she crawled up to the roof and lay beside him.

"You really shouldn't be up here." Edward said in a low voice.

"Oh so now you don't want me either?" Bella teased.

"No! That's not what I mean at all." Edward hastily said, sitting up to look at her.

"I know I'm just teasing. Relax." Bella reassured him.

"I'm sorry I lost you your job." Edward said with his head in his hands.

"I really screwed things up." He continued.

It was strange for Bella to hear Edward so discouraged and disappointed in himself. He was the one who encouraged Bella to do things she was afraid to do. She sat up and she looped her arm around his and put her head on his shoulder.

"We knew that was going to happen. If I wasn't sure about us or my feelings, I would have never let you do that. But as much as I've helped you see things differently, you've really helped me too." Bella insisted and she gently stroked his hand.

"You don't have to say that to make me feel better." Edward said bitterly and Bella shook her head insistently.

"Seriously. I didn't think that us together was good. At all. I must admit that I obviously had my guard up and I didn't want to lose my job. But honestly, if I lose what we have here, then really it's a meaningless existence if I let the one good thing that's happened to me so far slip away. Your insistence on it has really helped me see that we're good together. And now that we finally can be, without the monster behind our backs, we can maybe see how well we really are together. And if by the off chance it doesn't work out, we can at least say we tried and that we didn't let it slip by us." Bella said fiercely and Edward turned his head to look at her.

"I'm glad you have so much faith in me now, but my father will never approve." Edward sighed and put his head into his hands.

"Tanya wasn't going to approve either. But when have we ever cared? We just want to see whether this thing between us is real. Maybe they don't like us together, but really what's the worse that could happen?" Bella said soothingly and Edward looked at her again.

"Something's happened. We've switched roles." Edward said dryly.

"Well somebody's gotta keep your head up." Bella teased and they fell into a comfortable silence.

Bella gave a side glance to Edward and took a deep breath.

"Edward, I know that your relationship with your father is important to you and that you strive for perfection so that you can make him proud. But your family loves you no matter what you do. Of course your father seems to say differently now, but I'm sure he'll still love you no matter what. I promise it." Bella stared earnestly at Edward and he couldn't help himself but crack a smile.

Edward just shrugged and he wrapped his arms more securely around Bella and she rested her head against his chest, hearing his heartbeat.

"What were Emmett and Jasper like growing up?" Bella asked softly, breaking the silence.

Edward stretched back a little to glance at Bella.

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

"I mean did they tease you a lot? What was your childhood like?" she clarified.

"My childhood was fine. Typical with brothers teasing me being the runt of the family." Edward said nonchalantly.

"Of course things got kind of weird in a period of time but then we got over that and we moved on." Edward continued thoughtfully.

"Because of the adoption thing?" Bella asked sympathetically.

Edward's arms tightened around Bella and he stared at her.

"How do you know about the adoption?" Edward snapped, his arms uncurling from around Bella and he separated himself from her.

Bella felt the loss in the cool wind and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"Uh… well Esme kind of let it slip. But it's not her fault. I mean I want to know more about you. Of course I wish that you were the one to tell me that but it's okay either way I know now and I don't know. Don't be mad." Bella babbled.

Edward stayed silent and Bella got nervous.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Bella asked tentatively.

"I guess. Eventually. But I didn't expect my mom to spill the beans." Edward groaned and rolled his eyes.

"It was weird when Emmett and Jasper found out. I didn't want my girlfriend to find out from my mom and not from me. That's just weird. And I thought I'd have more time to tell you." Edward explained but Bella's mind was on the other thing he said.

"Girlfriend?" Bella whispered and Edward pulled at his hair causing Bella to swat at his hands.

"If that's what you want to be. You know. I thought that would be the natural progression of things. If not. That's cool. We can be friends. I'm fine with that. Yeah. Okay. But really I want to be your boyfriend and you my girlfriend. If that's alright. I mean I just broke my engagement. I thought a tiny consolation prize would be for you to be my girlfriend." Edward stammered.

"How do these things work anyways. Are you supposed to ask me whether I want to be your girlfriend? We haven't even gone on a date yet." Bella said with a hint of humour in her voice.

"I thought that place that you took me to. Where I cooked for you. And this. I thought these all count as dates." Edward relaxed and pulled Bella against him.

"I just think that we can take that step considering all that we've been through to get to here. It would be a shame if we just let that opportunity pass by." Edward said and Bella raised her eyebrows.

"Opportunity? You make it sound like it's the last time you'll ask me to be your girlfriend." Bella teased.

"Of course not. I'll never stop asking you to be mine." Edward said sweetly and Bella blushed.

"Oh stop it you big cheeseball." Bella said, grateful for the darkness to hide her heated cheeks.

"I can feel you blushing you know." Edward said and Bella blushed even harder.

She elbowed him in the ribs and he smirked, feeling more content than ever.

"So you never told me about your childhood. Don't avoid the question." Bella ordered and Edward gave a soft chuckle.

"My childhood was typical I guess. I played with my brothers and they taught me all the tricks to get out of trouble. Of course, when they got in trouble they made sure to blame me and make me take the wrap. But either way they were awesome." Edward began.

"How much older than you are they anyway?" Bella interrupted.

"Emmett's two years older than I am and Jasper's a year older than me. But I guess we fought over things like typical brothers do and I think we caused my mom a lot of headache. But then we kind of simmered down some once Emmett entered into the business phase as I like to call it. Dad really pushed down hard on him and Jazz to pursue business in high school and then I found out about the adoption thing. And it kind of all pieced together for me. It was weird. It was kind of like I finally understood why nothing I ever did would make Carlisle approve of me. Of course Esme put those doubts to rest and here we are now. But there was a period of awkwardness with Emmett and Jasper. Once they kind of moved on from that fact, we went back to normal but I guess something changed in me." Bella felt Edward shrug and let out a little sigh.

"Well it's good you have such supportive brothers." Bella said and Edward nodded.

"They're really great." He agreed.

"What about their girlfriends? I want to know who I'm going to be up against comparison wise." Bella said.

"There's no comparison to be made. You're all different and there shouldn't be any need to compete with them. We like you girls just the way you are and so there shouldn't be any fighting." Edward scolded Bella.

Bella nodded, but inside she couldn't help but remember Carlisle's comparison between herself and the other two girls.

"I know. But still. Tell me about them." Bella insisted.

"Well Alice is spunky and kind of like a little sister to me. She's really into fashion and she has her own fashion line. She's successful there and she's just really hyper and on candy all the time or something. She's short and I guess she encourages Jasper and he mellows her out a bit when she's being too loud and hyper. She's really nice though. Her and Jasper met at this diner and they've been together ever since." Edward said.

"And Rosalie?" Bella pressed on.

"Rosalie is…a character. She can be really mean and a bitch to people she doesn't like but when she's around Emmett it's like a completely different person. She's patient and sweet with him. Of course, she throws her wrenches around like they're apples but overall she's a nice person I guess. She owns a mechanics chain and she just kind of floats around from each store to each store to make sure they're doing their job right. The ironic part though is that she's gorgeous. Blonde hair, nice body, killer eyes. And she's in mechanics. How weird is that? Anyways, Emmett found her when he was hiking once and he twisted his ankle and was about to be mauled by a bear when Rose saved him. So they've been inseparable." Edward finished and Bella remained silent.

Seemed to her that she had a lot to compete with and she had nothing more to offer – just like Carlisle pointed out.

"You guys should do a girls night out. Just to get to know each other." Edward suggested.

Bella shook her head violently and tried to pull out of Edward's grasp. If she had to see them in person, she would really see how lacking she was…or worse, Edward and his family would see how lacking she was.

"Really I don't need to. I'm just going to mind my own business…" Bella tried to say, but Edward already pulled his phone out and started to dial a number.

"Edward!" Bella snapped but he just ignored her and waited for somebody to pick up.

"Hey Alice! My girlfriend Bella wants to do a girls night out with you and Rose. Think you can set it up with Rose and hang out tomorrow night?" Edward asked much to Bella's horror.

"Great, I'll drive her over to your house tomorrow then. Bye twerp." Edward ended the call and faced an angry looking Bella.

"It'll be fun. The girls are a hoot and you'll be one of them in no time." Edward encouraged and pulled her up and into the room away from the cool air.

He pulled her to the bed and they lay down together with Bella still silently fuming. Edward turned off all the lights and when he took in Bella's stiff body, he sighed.

"Don't worry. They'll accept you easier than my dad will. They're nice people. I really hope you can get along with them. It's important to me." Edward pleaded and Bella's stance softened.

"Alright. Just for you. But don't say I didn't warn you. This could be a disaster." Bella said with a slight scoff.

"Things will be fine. Just be yourself." Edward yawned and he closed his eyes.

His breathing evened out but Bella still lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"I really really hope you're right." Bella muttered into the darkness and Edward gave a grunt.

Bella sighed and she too found some sleep in the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

Sorry that I haven't updated in awhile guys! Anyhoozles, I hope you guys liked this chapter! What do you guys think the girls night out will be like? A disaster? A success? Or a little bit of both?

xoxo,

cookiemander


	17. Chapter 17: Meeting the Girls

**Chapter 17: Meeting the Girls**

Bella awoke to the feeling of dread in her gut. She tried to stretch but she found that she was pinned down to the bed like a wrestler by Edward. Groaning, she nudged him a little but he wouldn't budge. Glaring at him, she realized that his eyes were wide open and there was a spark of mischief in them.

"How long have you been staring at me for?" Bella stuttered.

"Awhile." Edward said without removing his arm.

"You do know that's super creepy and weird. And if you could just lift your arm off of me that'd be great." Bella said with a scowl.

"You're cute when you sleep. You talk." Edward said without moving.

"Excuse me?" Bella squawked staring at Edward.

"You talk. In your sleep." Edward repeated slowly.

"Oh my god. Please tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing." Bella blushed and this time there was no darkness to hide it.

"So cute. I would be lying if I told you that though." Edward smirked and he slid off the bed, leaving Bella to blink several times before it processed.

"Please forget whatever I said. You can't hold it against me. I was unconscious." Bella sat up and stared at Edward.

"Oh but even your subconscious wants us together. Forever." Edward sniggered and Bella made a lunge for him but Edward dodged away at the last second causing Bella to face plant onto the carpet.

Edward ran into the bathroom and slammed the door just as Edward's bedroom door slammed open revealing Emmett and Jasper. Emmett had his hand over his eyes and his other hand feeling around to make sure he didn't run into anything while Jasper just stared at his brother in exasperation.

"They're fully clothed Emmett." Jasper told him and Emmett gave a sigh of relief, removing his hand from his eyes and peering at Bella on the ground.

"Is this a new position I should be trying with Rosie? We've tried almost every position in the book you know." Emmett said smugly and he sat on the bed and Bella covered her ears.

"I do not want to know your sex life." Bella sang out loudly in an attempt to drown Emmett's descriptions of his adventures.

"Right well if you guys are quite done with annoying me, I would like to ask you to get out of the room so I can do some errands during the day and then go to that girls thing." Bella muttered and stood up with her hands on her hips.

"Oh right. You still think it's at night. Well plans have changed. Once Alice heard about you, she cancelled all over her and Rose's appointments so you could spend the day with them. Exciting isn't it?" Jasper said with a note of humour in his tone and Bella glared at him.

"Excuse me?" Bella snapped.

"Yeah once little ace is on it, there's really no stopping her. She's actually kind of scary." Emmett shuddered and looked like he was in fear.

Bella didn't bother to ask and so she turned her attention back to Jasper.

"What do you mean I'm spending the day with them?" Bella asked with her voice in a higher pitch than normal.

"He means that they're coming over to pick you up right now." Emmett said in a matter of fact voice and he shriveled away when Bella's glare got to him.

"WHAT?!" Bella shouted and Edward bounded out of the bathroom.

"What happened?" he asked hurriedly, taking in Bella's angry state.

"Yeah your girlfriend is not a morning person." Emmett said to that and he ran out of the bedroom door with Jasper following suit.

Bella pushed past Edward and slammed the bathroom door leaving Edward in the middle of the room, puzzled as to what happened.

"Honey bear? Sweetie? Darling? What happened?" Edward tried to ask through the bathroom door only to get the door to slam open and Bella to glare up at him and give him a swift kick in the shins.

"Don't ever call me those things again. I have a name you can use it or you can just talk to me like a normal person. Not like the she monster. Your brothers girlfriends are coming over NOW and I don't even have any clothes. They're still at the she monsters house and I really don't feel like going back there. So I have to go out with those two accomplished and hot females looking like a frump." Bella said in a huff and Edward had the audacity to look amused.

"This is your fault for setting this whole thing up. It's all your fault." Bella stabbed her finger into Edward's chest and Edward caught her finger, pulling her into him.

"Well then it must be my lucky day to have my girl mad at me, but still willing to put up with it." Edward said sweetly and her whole brain turned into goo.

He kissed her lips softly and Bella couldn't help that little sigh that escaped her. The door slammed open again causing Bella to jump from where she was and turn beet red.

"Right well this was a warzone. So I just wanted to tell you that the girls are here." Emmett announced with his hand over his eyes.

"Thanks." Bella said dryly and this time she gave Edward a quick peck.

"See you soon. I hope." Bella muttered and Edward gave her a fond smile.

"You'll be fine." Edward reassured her.

"Yeah Yeah. Whatever. You're not the one going with the pack of wolves." Bella sneered and she followed Emmett down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, she saw two girls waiting in the living room. Making sure she wasn't seen yet, she stopped at the top of the stairs to slowly analyze them. The shorter one was with Jasper cuddling on the loveseat. So obviously, Bella concluded that she was Alice. Alice had dark pixie short hair and she was wearing a nice yellow sundress that Bella had no idea how she rocked. She was staring at Jasper fondly and listening to whatever he was whispering in her ear, nodding every so often. She seemed nice enough. Bella took a deep breath and stared at the other girl. She was taller and she had that long blonde hair that Edward was so fond of. She sat next to Emmett and even though she seemed to be sitting stiffly, her hand was resting on Emmett's lap and Bella caught her smiling at Emmett. Bella made a mental note that the blonde hair goddess was Rosalie. She had an uncanny likeliness with Tanya that made Bella a bit uneasy, but still she tried to gather up her wits and courage to go down and meet them finally. Rosalie turned in her spot and her cold blue eyes seemed to pierce through Bella.

"Well are you done staring at us or are you going to come down so we can go." She said and she did not sound amused.

Bella slipped going down the stairs and she caught herself but she knew she had her blush on.

"Sorry. I was just. Yeah. Hi. I'm Bella Swan." She held out her hand for a handshake, but Rosalie just stared at it and then went to look at her nails.

Feeling discouraged, she gave a small wave to Alice and was confronted with a huge hug for somebody so small.

"I'm Alice. It's so nice to meet you! This is Rosalie. But you probably already knew that. We're so excited to spend the day with you!" Alice chattered and Rosalie just gave Bella a blank stare.

"Speak for yourself Alice. I'm not sure whether excited is the right word to use here." Rosalie said dryly while staring Bella up and down.

Bella blushed again, cursing herself for not bringing any clothes. Emmett leaned over and whispered something into Rosalie's ear and she sighed.

"We're delighted to be graced by your presence." Rosalie said sarcastically and Bella's guard went up and she went on defensive just as Edward walked down the stairs.

"Hey Alice. Rosalie." Edward greeted them and wrapped his arm around Bella.

"Hi Edward!" Alice said back with so much enthusiasm that Bella thought she looked more like a little kid than an adult.

"Edward. I see you have your new chew toy here. Let's hope you have enough sense to end this one before you get to the marriage part and make it incredibly awkward." Rosalie said with her sarcastic tone which reminded Bella a lot of Tanya.

"Well if you're quite done Rosalie. I'm sure that Alice and I will have a splendid time together. Without you. You're like Tanya's little lap dog or something. Do you work for her too? Or are you just getting paid by her to work her cars and so you have to say these things just to make it clear that nobody will ever accept me in this family. Oh right, you're blonde and beautiful you have no problems being mean and rude to people who already feel uncomfortable enough meeting her boyfriend's brother's girlfriends. Let me clue you in here _Rose_. I'm here to stay. For how long? I don't know. But for as long as I'm here I'm not going to tolerate anybody else stepping on me or saying rude things about mine and Edward's relationship. Who are you to judge? If I stay out of your business stay the fuck out of mine. If you weren't the girlfriend of my boyfriend's brother I would really want to snap you in half right now. I have so much pent up anger at Tanya that I wouldn't be afraid to do it." Bella snapped and everybody fell silent, even Alice.

Alice stared at her in awe and all three brothers had their jaws on the ground. Rosalie stared at Bella with an unfathomable expression which made Bella slightly uncomfortable, but she stood her ground and sneered right back at her.

"Well Edward. I see you've made a better choice this time." Rosalie finally said and Bella felt the anger inside of her ease a little bit before she stared at Rose cautiously.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun with this little spitfire over here." Rosalie finished and walked out of the door, leaving all the men staring at her.

"Well...I suppose we should go now." Alice said nervously, staring between the door and Bella.

Edward pulled Bella back as Alice skipped out of the door.

"I've..Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Edward asked.

"I'm going to be just fine. It felt great standing up for myself. Besides if she talks to me like I'm her slave, I'll just put poison in her food. No biggie. Emmett might be sad for a little while but he can deal with it." Bella said and Edward's eyes widened.

Bella gave a quick kiss to Edward and she too exited the house. Edward exchanged glances with his brothers and couldn't stop staring at where the girls disappeared to.

"Remind me to never ever get on little Bell's bad side." Emmett mumbled and Edward couldn't help but nod in agreement.

* * *

Another chapter for today since I've neglected to update these past couple of days. Hope you guys like it! I have the next two chapters planned out, so get excited!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	18. Chapter 18: Girls Day Out

**Chapter 18: Girls Day Out**

Bella sighed quietly in the back, tuning out Alice's high pitched voice. She couldn't help but notice Rosalie's glances through the rear-view mirror a couple of times too many for it to be normal and just to check the cars behind her.

"We're going to the mall and then we're going to my place which I mean won't be my place any longer since I'm moving in with Jazzy in a couple of months." Alice gushed in the front to them and both Rosalie and Bella gave a grunt in response but Alice didn't seem to mind the non talkative pair.

"Jazz was serious about me moving in. I mean can you believe that?! I thought it was just a fluke and that he would find me annoying, but I think it might be the real thing! I'm just. Super. Excited." Alice was out of breath and she looked expectantly at Rosalie.

"That's great honey. I'm sure you guys will be happy together. Just try not to drive the rest of the house up the wall." Rosalie said half paying attention, but Bella saw Alice's excited face fall.

"You're right. What if Jazz lives with me and finds me annoying? Oh my god I have to call him right away and tell him that I can't move in with him." Alice panicked and Bella couldn't help but shoot a glare at Rosalie's direction...when she wasn't looking in the rear-view mirror of course.

"Alice I'm sure that Jasper will love living with you. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would lie to you just so he'll suffer." Bella tried to reassure her and Alice seemed to think it through while Rosalie found a parking spot.

Alice slowly nodded and her face was lit up by a bright smile again.

"You're right Bella. Thanks!" Alice said and hopped out of the car and opened Bella's door.

"C'mon! There's lots to do before we go to my place to hang out. We NEED to get you a new wardrobe." Alice chirped and Bella groaned but pasted on a smile when Alice looked her way.

Bella was taken to a variety of different stores and in each store Alice made her try clothes on while Rosalie just hung back and looked at her nails often. Alice paid for most of Bella's purchases much to Bella's embarrassment. Finally Rose suggested that they take a breather in the food court and Alice grudgingly agreed.

"Ooh! There's a nice store there! I'm going to go look at it. You guys sit here. Don't move." Alice instructed and she skipped away to her store.

Bella gave a sidelong glance towards Rosalie and they sat in an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry about this morning you know." Rosalie broke the silence and Bella's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" Bella said, fully turning to face Rose.

"I'm sorry about those things I said. I didn't know whether you'd be like Tanya and just run to Edward for help and not stand up for yourself. Or if you're just some vapid girl who Edward likes to date often. I've seen how unhappy and tired Edward seems to be dating Tanya. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't making the same mistake again." Rose mumbled and Bella got the feeling that she didn't apologize to anybody often.

"Well thanks I guess. I can assure you that I am nothing like Tanya and that I don't wish to bring anybody any sadness or tiredness in being with me. I just want to you know live a little and not be sad all the time." Bella explained and Rose gave her a startled look.

Alice came back and she seemed oblivious to the mood between the two girls and she showed them her purchases with an excited squeal.

"Alice honey I think we should head over to your place now. I think we might be all shopped out." Rosalie said and gently steered Alice towards the exit.

Bella followed suit, nodding vigorously even though neither girl could see her. She for one was never going shopping with Alice again. No matter how cute her puppy dog eyes were. She'd leave Jasper to pleasing her girlfriend. The drive to Alice's house was relatively short. Her house was a modest little home that had a very comfy feel to it that reminded Bella of her mom. They sat in the living room where Alice poured them all some wine which Bella sniffed at cautiously while nobody was looking.

"So Bella." Rosalie suddenly said and Bella jumped, nearly splashing some wine onto Alice's nice furniture.

"How'd you meet Edward?" Alice leaned forward eagerly, disposing of her glass and turning her gaze onto Bella.

"Uh. Well I was working for Tanya as her I don't know her in house maid. So she kind of introduced Edward and me with him being her fiancé of course. Which is weird I know." Bella stammered, suddenly feeling hot under their attentive stares.

"Why were you even working for her? I'm sure you could find a job elsewhere. Or even lived with your dad for awhile before you found a job." Rosalie said reasonably.

"Uh. Yeah. When I came to Forks from Phoenix I was not in the greatest part of my life. So seeing Charlie with his new family didn't help so I wanted to be independent. Anyways that obviously went down the drain." Bella explained and took a sip from her glass.

Rosalie gave her a calculating look before also taking a sip of her own glass. Alice still looked puzzled and she looked at Bella with inquisitive eyes.

"Why were you so sad Bella? Were some people mean to you?" Alice asked and Bella froze.

Rosalie didn't say anything, just waited for Bella to answer.

"I..uhm. I got involved. With this guy. Who didn't tell me he was with somebody else. When I didn't sleep with him I guess he told the girl or something and she came to the place where I worked and all hell broke loose." Bella shrugged trying to sound like she didn't care.

"So you have a thing for men who are in relationship." Rosalie drawled and Bella blushed.

"This thing with Edward wasn't planned. I never intended for it to be anything. He just insisted and apparently none of us here can resist the Cullen charm." Bella joked weakly and Alice looked back and forth between the two women.

"Either way though you got involved with him while he was in a relationship." Rosalie pressed on and Bella frowned, now feeling more defensive than embarrassment.

"I didn't get involved with him at all. We just talked and it's not like I slept with him while he was with Tanya." Bella said with a slight annoyance in her voice.

"You guys haven't slept together yet?" Alice's voice chirped, interrupting the terse conversation between Rosalie and Bella.

Bella blushed beet red and she took a sip of her wine, steadying herself.

"I mean we've slept in the same bed together. But we never. I mean we haven't done the dirty deed yet." Bella confessed and Rosalie's perfect eyebrows shot up.

"You're telling me that the horndog of the family hasn't sealed the deal yet?" she asked with genuine surprise in her voice.

"Rosalie!" Alice scolded but she couldn't help the slight giggle that escaped her.

"What do you mean the horndog of the family? I thought Emmett would be..." Bella trailed off, not wanting to end her life with that sentence with Rosalie giving her a death glare.

"Emmett and I have a perfectly fine sex life and I satisfy him enough that he doesn't need to stick his thing anywhere else." Rosalie said haughtily.

"Ew. Gross. I didn't need to know that." Bella said covering her ears.

"You asked. Besides. Everybody knows Edward as the baby of the family. The black sheep of the family." Rosalie said.

"He's not the black sheep of the family. Just because he was adopted doesn't mean he's any less Cullen than his brothers." Bella responded hotly.

Both Alice and Rosalie looked at Bella with shock written on their faces.

"Oh. Wait. Ignore what I just said. That was a mistake." Bella stuttered as she put down her wine glass.

"No, no. Carry on. What do you mean he was adopted?" Rosalie asked and Bella groaned.

"Nothing. I said nothing. Don't even mention it to anybody. I'm just drunk. Completely drunk out of my mind." Bella said and Alice clapped her hands excitedly.

"Let's watch a movie! I'll go make some popcorn. You guys stay here. Don't move!" Alice squealed and Bella couldn't help but give a glance at Rosalie.

"She's not always all there. An incredible friend and shopper and fashion designer. But when it comes down to it she isn't the sharpest knife in the box. Love her to death though." Rosalie massaged her temples slowly and Bella could detect no menace in her voice.

"She's really nice." Bella offered lamely.

Rosalie opened her eyes and looked at Bella.

"I really don't mean to come off as rude or standoffish. I've just seen so many girls come and go out of both Edward and Jasper's life who want to take advantage of them. Whether it's their social status or their money whatever it is. I just don't want you to be another one of them and hurt Edward. I've never seen him so gun ho over a girl before." Rosalie explained and Bella felt herself softening towards Rose.

"Of course. I understand. You're just looking out for him." Bella said quietly and they sat in a less awkward silence.

"So I heard that you met Emmett on a hiking trip?" Bella said awkwardly trying to fill the void.

"Yeah. Stupid guy was trying to goad a bear to go back home with him. Seriously he was talking to the bear and everything and trying to put fish in his face to make the bear follow him back. But right as the bear reacted and actually started to chase Em, he twisted his ankle and he was going to be eaten by the bear. I heard the commotion of those two blockheads from my camping site and I managed to lure the bear to the other side of the woods. I mean I also pushed Emmett down a hilly cliff so that was a thing." Rosalie shrugged and she sipped her wine while Bella gawked at her.

"Uhm. Really sounds like love at first sight." Bella said and cleared her throat when her voice came out raspy.

Alice reappeared with her buttery popcorn in a bowl and her eyes twinkling.

"So what do you guys wanna watch?" Alice said excitedly and Bella couldn't help but giggle.

"Whatever you want Alice. Whatever you want." Rosalie said calmly and Alice started to talk at hyper speed about this new chick flick that came out.

Together, the three girls settled on the movie 300 because as the other two girls claimed, it was watching good looking half naked men run around in diapers. Bella found herself relaxing and feeling a lot better about the whole thing. She felt herself doze off and her last thought was that she could make it work out after all.

* * *

Hey everybody! I'm so sorry for not updating for awhile. I wasn't sure how I wanted to incorporate the girls day out with Bella's history and stuff like that. But I hope you guys like it!

Also, to reply to a review from a guest who I can't reply to..since you're a guest :P

Thank you for taking the time to review and let me know what you think of the story. I think you're right, that in real life, men who date women who come off as catty or rude would have it reflected on them. But also, every woman who comes off that way might have a story behind them and some history between them that makes them that way. Also, Edward dated Tanya because he wanted to gain the approval of his family and now that he's found that he doesn't want to do that anymore because it's not what he wants and his family is behind him on this, he's trying to do the right thing for him. Besides, Tanya wasn't _really_ heartbroken about it. She was just sad that she lost her arm candy. With that being said, this is a story of my imagination and of course, like you said it's fiction. I hope you enjoy my story!

I also want to take this time to thank everybody for reading my story. Whether you've left a review or not, I'm glad that you guys follow and continue to give me the support to finish this story. I would like to thank those who review on my story I really appreciate that you take the time out to let me know what you think or whether you liked the chapter or not. So thank you guys so much, I really appreciate it!

I hope that the next chapter will be up soon, I'm still in the middle of writing that. Hopefully the next authors note won't be this long and tedious for you guys to read.

As a hint for the next chapter, you guys might want to reconsider Carlisle. It isn't all as it seems.

xoxo,

cookiemander


	19. Chapter 19: The Blowup

**Chapter 19: The Blowup **

Bella's cell phone rang, startling her and the other two girls awake. Giving a soft apology, Bella grabbed her phone and went to the bathroom to take the call.

"Hello?" Bella mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

"Bella? It's nearly 7 at night. Mom wants you guys home for dinner. What in the world are you girls doing?" Edward's anxious voice made Bella crack a smile.

"Sorry. Fell asleep. Going now." Bella muttered and she ended the call and leaned her head against the wall in the bathroom, letting her eyes drift shut.

"Bella? Is everything alright?" Alice's voice did not give any indication at all that she had been asleep.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Gotta go though. Edward's getting antsy." Bella explained and she opened the door to a fresh faced Alice.

"Well then let's go!" Alice said cheerfully and skipped off to wake Rose.

They reached the Cullen mansion and all three brothers were waiting for them at the door.

"You guys are such worry warts." Bella scolded but with no real fire in her voice.

"Well I mean there was no phone call, no nothing. Who knew if you guys slaughtered each other?" Emmett said and everybody laughed.

"Oh good you guys are home. Just in time. I made lasagna!" Esme called out and Emmett was the first one to bound into the kitchen.

The other two girls and Jasper followed suit, laughing at Emmett's antics. Just as Bella was going to follow them, Edward stopped her making her look at him in surprise.

"Everything was alright then? No bloody fights, no tears. You're okay?" He asked anxiously and Bella couldn't help but give him a quick kiss.

"Everything was fine. They're really nice. And Rosalie and I hashed it out. Kind of. So we're kind of bonding now." Bella said with a pinch of his cheek.

Edward smiled broadly and Bella felt all warm and gooey inside at his happiness.

"C'mon you weirdo. The food will get cold." Bella said hastily and tried to cover up her blush.

Edward followed Bella into the kitchen and pulled out her seat for her causing her to try not to giggle like a little girl.

"Thank you. What a gentleman." Bella teased and everybody watched with little grins on their faces.

The only person not present at the dinner was Carlisle. Bella made that observation quietly and didn't say anything to bring attention to it. Everybody was so carefree and happy she didn't want to ruin it. Halfway into dinner and interrupting the cheery conversation about alpacas, Carlisle appeared in the kitchen doorway. Everybody froze and conversation immediately ceased. Carlisle glanced around the room with a curl of his lip and Bella immediately felt the tension in the room elevate.

"Carlisle dear. We're having lasagna tonight." Esme said as she stood up to guide him to his chair.

Carlisle sat down, but didn't say anything and continued to stare at the occupants at the table. Bella kept her eyes down and Edward's hand snuck over to hers and held onto it tightly.

"Well looks like we have a full house here tonight don't we? We have all our sons here and their precious other halves." Carlisle said in a mild tone, but a chill swept through the room.

"Everything alright dad?" Jasper asked quietly and Carlisle arched an eyebrow at his son.

"Why shouldn't everything be alright?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

"We have guests of honor here. We have the wonderful Rosalie who can do almost anything she wants with cars. She even has her own mechanics shop. We have Alice over here who is a fashion stylist and designs brand name clothes for a living." Carlisle said with false sweetness in his tone causing Bella to have a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, knowing that he would get to her.

"Oh yes and we have Bella here. Our dear Bella." Carlisle stood up from his chair and put his hand her shoulders.

"Our own little champion who pulled Edward from his funk with Tanya. Who ruined their engagement and destroyed the business that Edward was going to build. She's even more powerful than all of us put together." Carlisle crowed and Edward stood up with a bang of the chair.

"She didn't do anything. It was me who finally decided to take my own future into my hands." Edward growled and Esme put her hand on her mouth.

Bella felt the hands on her shoulders tightening and barely stifled a whimper. She attempted to stand up but Carlisle pushed her down.

"Now, now. Edward don't be so angry. I know she means...so much to you. I mean after knowing her all of a week or something. You were willing to give up everything for her? So obviously, she must have something that nobody else can offer. What exactly is it I wonder. Is it money? No, can't be we have plenty of that here. Is it her beauty? Oh no, you can have your pick of women because of who you are and how handsome you are. Is it sexual deeds she can offer you? I can't see how she'd be any good. Is it..." Carlisle listed off and Bella's face burned with humiliation.

"Enough! If you can't accept that I'm just trying to go after what I like and I want then you can go fuck yourself. I've put up with you saying rude things about Bella. Say whatever the hell you want about me. Don't you ever say shit like that about Bella." Edward snarled and he pushed Carlisle aside causing Bella to gasp and get up.

"Edward.." Bella started to say.

"Don't even come to his defense. Here I thought everybody would be happy for me that I was finally standing up for myself and actually being with a girl that I like for who she is. But of course I was wrong. I know why you're doing this you know. You're trying to drive me out of your family because I wasn't yours to begin with. It's alright Carlisle. I get it. Message received. I'm going now. Don't worry. I won't ever come near you again. I won't use a cent of your money. You think I'll be nothing without you? Don't you worry I will be ten times the man you never are or will be. I might want to get away from you, but I will never lose touch with Esme and my brothers. You will never be able to drive that wedge between us." Edward said with fierce venom in his voice and Bella curled back into herself, away from the two men standing face to face with each other.

Emmett and Jasper stood up, each putting a restraining arm on Edward. Carlisle just managed a small bark of laughter that sounded hollow to everybody's ears. Bella frowned and stared at Carlisle. She could find a hint of sadness and hurt in his eyes, but before she could analyze him, Edward grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house. They got into the car and Bella gave a timid side glance towards Edward who was mumbling to himself and growling little swear words during the drive. Edward parked in his designated parking spot at his apartment and he turned off the engine, plunging them into silence and darkness.

"I am so sorry. I had no idea it would turn out like this..." Edward apologized in a rough voice.

"It's alright. It's really not your fault that Carlisle can't accept who I am. Maybe in time he'll come around?" Bella said quietly.

Bella peered at Edward in the darkness, feeling helpless at his slumped form.

"I'm sure this is only because he cares about your future and not because he doesn't accept you as a son Edward..." Bella tried to say but Edward shook his head.

"He's no longer my father anymore. I don't think he ever wanted to be." Edward said darkly and the two descended in silence.

Staring at Edward's slumped form, Bella felt despair and she really hoped that this would blow over soon. If not, then Bella couldn't help but feel responsible for the blowup.

* * *

Hey everybody! I know it's been awhile and that this isn't exactly a long chapter nor is it a chapter that I expected to turn out this way. I just thought I wanted to have a little bit more of a build up before I continue anything. So I promise that the next chapter will definitely be better (hopefully) and hopefully you guys still like this chapter and stay tuned for the next chapter...Vampire Alice tells me that it might come out later tonight...Who knows? But, never bet against Alice! muaahahaha

-Also, ps. In case anybody had any delusions or if I had any delusions... - disclaimer! Twilight nor any of it's characters belong to me.. yada yada yada.. just sayin. -

xoxo,

cookiemander


	20. Chapter 20: The Truth about Carlisle

**Chapter 20: The Truth about Carlisle**

Bella woke up with cold sweat beading her forehead and she sat up straight in the bed, gasping trying to find air to fill her lungs with. Beside her, Edward sat up groggily, wrapping his arms around her.

"You okay?" he mumbled and gave her soft kisses on the neck.

Bella blushed and she nodded half heartedly. Edward fell back into his pillows, pulling Bella down with him, but her eyes remained open, still seeing the nightmare play through her eyes. It was pathetic really. It was just of Edward not wanting her anymore and Carlisle and Tanya's voices telling her that she wasn't worth it. Bella tried to analyze why she had that nightmare and she thought back to her life for the past couple of weeks. The past couple weeks Bella spent with Edward flew by. They each concentrated on finding jobs to support themselves and didn't leave enough time for any romance. They were each out actively looking for jobs and handing out applications, going for interviews, fulfilling obligations that they might have, running errands. Once they got to the apartment, they sank into bed and just fell asleep. When Bella had a free day, Edward was busy with job hunting and when Edward had a free day, Bella either had to job hunt or to visit her dad and assure him that everything was okay. Each day was filled with quick kisses and not enough time to think about them and their relationship. What Bella _did_ think about though, was that she was now living with Edward Cullen. Her clothes were put in haphazardly in the drawers and all over the floor when she didn't have time to do the laundry. Her toothbrush was sitting next to his, looking slightly more used. She was slowly integrating into his home life and they both failed to notice it until Bella really sat down to think. Which wasn't often. She was so busy with trying to find a job and to keep Charlie happy, that she couldn't remember the last time she and Edward sat down together at the same table and talked. Still, Bella caught Edward glancing at his phone more often than not, and Bella knew that he was waiting for somebody from his family to call even though he wouldn't admit it. Ever since that huge fight between Edward and his father, Bella heard Edward's hushed conversations with his brothers and his mother but he refused to speak to his father. What really bothered Bella about that night was how sudden Carlisle seemed to lash out. Sure, he was lashing out at Bella before, but never in such an aggressive way. And even though Bella didn't appreciate nor did she know Carlisle that well, she knew that it was strange and that spark of pain that she saw couldn't have been faked. Feeling uneasy about the whole thing, she brought it up with Edward once, but he snapped at her and locked himself in their room for awhile before coming out and muttering apologies. Since then, Bella ceased to mention his family, but she couldn't stop that nagging doubt in the back of her head. Lying awake now, she contemplated bringing it up again, but it would probably spark another fight between them and given that dream that she just had, it probably did her subconscious no good to make things rocky again, as guilty as that made her.

"Morning." Edward mumbled on her left side and Bella gave a soft grunt, closing her eyes swiftly so he wouldn't know she was awake.

Bella felt his lips against her cheek and he disappeared into the bathroom. Bella opened her eyes again and she rolled over to his side of the bed, sniffing his pillow taking in his scent. Feeling weird, she sat up and stretched while looking at the clock.

"Got another interview today?" Bella asked through the door as she picked up some clothes off the ground.

"Yeah. Big one today. I'm almost late. Gotta go." Edward left the bathroom, gave Bella quick kiss and he rushed out the door with his coffee mug in hand and an apple in the other.

"See you tonight!" He called out and slammed the door shut.

Bella sighed and she started organizing everything in the drawers and made herself some breakfast. The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted her reading in the middle of her meal and she grumbled to herself while picking up the phone.

" 'Lo?" Bella mumbled as she still concentrated on her novel.

When nobody said anything on the other line, Bella focused more on the phone.

"Hello?" Bella asked again.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and saw that Esme was on the line.

"Esme? Is that you? Is everything okay?" Bella asked cautiously.

Bella could hear the soft sniffling now that she concentrated harder on the call. Feeling a sudden panic, she pressed the phone harder to her ear as if she could hear better.

"Do you want me to call Edward to come see you? What's wrong?" Bella asked, panicked.

"No! Don't call Edward yet." Esme's voice was scratchy as if she had been crying for hours before or yelling.

"What's the matter?" Bella asked urgently, completely abandoning her book.

"It's...Do you think you could come see me at the coffee shop? Across from Edward's building. I'm sitting there now." Esme said and Bella nodded frantically.

"Yeah of course. I'll be down in a second." Bella threw on some clothes and left the apartment in a hurry.

She saw Esme sitting by herself in a booth at the corner of the shop. Hurrying over to her, she declined the waitress' attempt to help her and all but pushed her aside.

"Esme? What's wrong?" Bella asked, a little out of breath.

Esme's red rimmed eyes met Bella's and she burst into tears. Bella, feeling awkward and unknowing what to do in these situations, reached over the table to pat her hand awkwardly.

"I know this is something that you guys don't need right now. I know you guys are finding jobs and that this is a terrible time for me to intrude." Esme said in between her hiccups and tears.

Bella shook her head in denial and she gripped Esme's hands even tighter.

"Whatever's happening with you is probably way more important than our problems right now. Just tell me what I can do." Bella said trying to get Esme to tell her the problem.

"It's... It's Carlisle." Esme finally said and she broke into another wave of sobs.

Bella froze and she tilted her head, not understanding.

"I'm sorry? What about Carlisle." Bella asked.

"Ever since that fight between Edward and Carlisle and the things that Carlisle said and didn't say made the other two boys extremely angry with Carlisle. They won't even sit at the same table as him and when they talk about business it's always tense and terse comments. They're not even bothering to hide their disgust with him." Esme explained, cutting herself off when she started sobbing again.

"I'm so so sorry about that Esme. I tried to tell Edward to talk to Carlisle but..." Bella tried to apologize but Esme continued on as if she completely didn't hear her.

"But I didn't think Carlisle would go that far. Really I thought he was just going to light Edward's fire and leave it at that. That's what he told me he was going to do. I didn't think he wanted to alienate his family along with it." Esme sobbed and Bella tried hard to understand her.

"What do you mean leave it at that? This was all a plan?" Bella asked incredulously.

"Kind of? Oh Bella you have to forgive us. It's just that Edward has never expressed any interest in standing up for himself or even trying to find himself or whatever. So this was kind of like reverse psychology and Carlisle said it would work and it did! He just wanted to give Edward a little extra push to make sure that Edward wouldn't go back on his word. But now it's just a mess and Carlisle won't even try to make an effort to make things right again." Esme wailed.

"You guys tricked Edward to being himself? Do you even realize how twisted that is? If Carlisle just told Edward to go and figure himself out, I'm sure things would be a lot different." Bella scolded Esme and Esme nodded along with her wadded up tissue.

"I know that we made a mistake. But we didn't think Edward would believe us because he thinks that he isn't really part of the family, so we thought this would work better. And it worked! Edward found you. But now this has all turned sideways and I am in no position to fix it!" Esme said and she blew her nose into her tissue.

"So what can I do to help? I've already talked to Edward about it. But he won't listen to me at all." Bella said.

"I want you to talk to Carlisle. Get his side of the story. Then maybe you'll be able to convince Edward to see his father?" Esme pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Bella opened her mouth to protest, but seeing as she felt kind of guilty about the whole situation, she sighed and she nodded. Esme cracked a smile and Bella grimaced inside. She left Esme sitting in the cafe with her cup of coffee and drover over to where Carlisle, after promising Esme that she would call once she got there.

"Esme? I'm here. I'll call you later once I finish talking with him. I guess." Bella said and after listening to Esme's tearful thanks, she hung up and took a deep breath before walking into the hospital.

"Hi. I'm here to see Carlisle Cullen?" Bella said to the receptionist.

The receptionist glanced up at her through her glasses.

"Is he expecting you?" she asked in a nasally voice.

"Not exactly. Just tell him that I'm Bella Swan." Bella said, tapping her fingers on the desk.

The receptionist gave Bella an evil glance, but went into Carlisle's office to relay the message. Less than a second later, Carlisle appeared through his office door and Bella saw how haggard he looked. He too had red rimmed eyes and dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept in awhile. All that Bella wanted to say flew out of her head as she saw him. He gestured her into his office and she sat down while he sat at his desk, behind his computer. On his desk, she saw pictures of his family and she saw pictures of Edward, Emmett and Jasper as little children, all piled on top of Carlisle, all of them smiling broadly into the camera.

"What brings you here?" Carlisle's tired voice broke through Bella's observations of the pictures on his desk.

Bella looked at Carlisle and he didn't have that usual sneer that he used to have when talking to her.

"What exactly is going on Carlisle?" Bella asked softly.

Carlisle opened his mouth with his lips curled up in a cruel smile but Bella cut him off.

"Don't give me any bullshit Carlisle. Just tell me the truth or I'll never be able to help you get your family back."

Carlisle looked surprised, but he let out a harsh laugh.

"How can you help me? Why would you even help me? After all that I've said and what I've done to you and Edward." Carlisle said.

"If you can just tell me the truth then I can help you however I can." Bella insisted, leaning forward.

Carlisle remained silent, stubbornly so. Bella glanced at the picture of the young boys on top of him sitting on the corner of his desk. She took the photo frame and saw Carlisle frown as she stood up.

"I'm sure as little boys do, in this picture they worshipped you. They saw you as their hero. They still do you know. Even if they seem to be pissed at you now. You will always be their father. You can always salvage their relationship with you Carlisle. Don't let it slip away from you." Bella said as she set the photo down on the desk in front of him.

"Call me if you want to talk about anything Carlisle. Let me try to help." Bella said quietly and she started to leave the room.

Carlisle cleared his throat and Bella stopped with her hand on the door handle.

"I..." Carlisle cleared his throat again.

Bella turned around and stared at him.

"I have cancer." Carlisle finally said and Bella's eyes widened.

She rushed back to her seat and Carlisle avoided her eyes.

"Oh my god! How do you know? Did you ask for second opinions?" Bella asked rapidly and Carlisle held up his hand and she fell silent.

"I found out that night. That night that you guys had lasagna." Carlisle said haltingly.

Bella noticed that he didn't say that it was the night of the argument.

"I couldn't think things through and I took it out on Edward. I guess in turn that affected everybody else as well." Carlisle said.

"Who cares about that right now. What kind is it? What stage? _Did_ you get second opinions?" Bella asked again, more forcefully this time.

"It's liver cancer. It started last year when they discovered a lump there but I ignored it until I could have more time to take care of it. The other day they called me in to tell me that it was advancing quickly and that I couldn't wait any longer to take care of it. If I waited any longer then I would have no chance of surviving." Carlisle explained slowly and took a deep breath.

"Does anybody know? Does Esme know?" Bella asked quietly.

"No. Nobody knows. And you can't tell them." Carlisle said fiercely.

"What? Why not? If I tell them I know they'll reconcile with you right away and then everything will be fine again and you can concentrate on taking care of yourself and not about this mess." Bella reasoned with him.

"That's exactly why I don't want you to tell them. I don't want them to do it out of pity. I know I screwed up big. I want to fix things with them my way." Carlisle insisted.

"You need to concentrate on getting better now Carlisle. Nothing else." Bella said and she leaned forward towards him.

"I'm sure they'll understand why you did this. Even Edward. You shouldn't have to worry about not having support at a time like this." Bella insisted, but Carlisle shook his head.

"I'm going to be disappearing for awhile. While I go through the surgery and chemo and radiation. Nobody will notice. It'll be fine." Carlisle said and he turned to his computer, and Bella got the impression that he thought that the discussion was over.

"Do you really think that they won't notice when you've disappeared? If you disappear, they'll either think the worse, or Esme will be devastated. She came to me, wanting to reconcile this family. Carlisle you can't just take this all on yourself. You have to let people in." Bella said and Carlisle looked at her with surprise.

They sat in silence, Bella unwilling to let him win.

"Fine. For a little bit I'll keep it a secret. But I'm going to tell Rose and Alice. You're going to need all the help that you can get. I'll wait for you to tell Esme only because you're her husband and she'll want to hear it from you. We'll all try to convince the guys to talk to you again and then you can tell them. If you don't tell them before your surgery, I'll tell them." Bella finally said and she stood up.

"Keep me updated Carlisle. I don't want to see the news report of you lying dead in your office because of your liver. Think about reaching out to them." Bella finished and she walked out of the office.

Carlisle stared at the closed door for awhile before turning back to his work. Outside of the office, Bella pulled out her phone to call Esme like she promised.

"Esme? I talked to him. I can't tell you anything for certain right now, but I think there might be a solution on the horizon. Go back home and wait for Carlisle." Bella reported and she hung up.

She dialed another number on her phone again.

"Alice? Can you call Rosalie? Can I meet you guys at your place in fifteen minutes? There's something I need your help with."

* * *

Woooweeee! Long chapter? Do I deserve some reviews? Maybe just a little? What do you guys think? Let me know! I hope you guys liked it!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	21. Chapter 21: What is going on?

**Chapter 21: What's going on?**

"So you're telling me that he has cancer but he won't tell anybody in his family? Because he wants them to forgive him naturally and not because he has a sickness?" Rosalie said slowly, while pacing back and forth in front of Bella.

Bella gave a quick nod and she ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh.

"What kind of sick twisted logic is that?" Rosalie threw her hands up in frustration and sat down beside Bella.

Bella shrugged and Alice patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"Well we have to respect his wishes. I mean he trusted Bella and I guess us to a certain extent to let us know that he has this problem and he wants some help. No matter what the situation with the family is and whether he wants them to know or not, we have to help him the best way that we can." Bella said in one breath and Alice looked unsure while Rosalie looked skeptical.

"Are you sure that he's telling the truth? What if he's just saying it for sympathy because he thinks you'll tell Edward and then he'll get forgiven that way." Rosalie said, but Bella shook her head immediately.

"I don't think he would use this to get his sons to talk to him again. Esme was the one who approached me to talk to Carlisle, and he never wanted to tell me anyways. I kind of forced him to tell me." Bella argued.

"I don't like to keep secrets from Jazz." Alice said in a small voice.

"I don't think any of us here want to jeopardize our relationships for a man who can't tell his family that he has cancer. Next thing you know he's going to be making meth for money." Rosalie said sarcastically.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"This isn't an episode of Breaking Bad Rosalie. Besides, Carlisle doesn't need to make meth to support his family. He has enough money to support fifty families. He promised me that he would tell Esme. So if he holds his end of the deal, I'll have to hold my end of the deal and I can't tell the guys. You guys can't either. I don't want to have anything that would make Carlisle upset or his condition might worsen." Bella scolded them and Alice looked down sheepishly while Rosalie's eyes flashed.

"I'm not risking this relationship with Emmett and not telling him his father's potentially life threatening disease. He's the best thing's that's happened to me and I don't want to lose that because I can't tell him his own father might be dying." Rosalie said quietly and Bella fell silent.

"I don't know what else to do. I promise Carlisle. But I don't want to go behind Edward's back either. I know they all deserve to know about their father's condition but I just…I don't even know what I would say." Bella said helplessly.

"Say what?" Edward's voice startled the three girls and Bella put her hand over her mouth and couldn't help the guilty look creeping onto her face.

"I need to go. Good luck Bella. Text me." Rosalie said in a rush and she brushed past Edward without another word.

Bella shot Alice a pleading look but Alice just gave an apologetic glance to both of them before she too headed out without another word.

"Bella? What's going on? Is everything okay?" Edward asked with concern in his tone.

He sat next to her and seemed to give her a look over just to make sure she didn't have any physical damage.

"I'm fine Edward." Bella managed to say through her now dry throat.

Edward frowned and he put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"Are you sure? Do you need to see a doctor? Just tell me what's wrong." Edward urged and Bella had to shoo his hands away from her so she could think clearly.

"I'm fine. Really. Nothing's happened..to me.." Bella stuttered and Edward stared at her, confused.

Edward stared at her expectantly and Bella opened her mouth to say something, but she was unable to have any words come out. The phone rang, and Bella hastened to answer it, glad that something had come up to prevent her from talking to Edward.

"Hello?"

"Bella? It's Esme. How was the talk with Carlisle?" Bella stiffened and she looked at Edward who was looking at her curiously.

"I can't talk right now. Can I call you back later?" Bella said awkwardly and gave another quick glance at Edward who had a frown on his face.

"I just want to know that things went okay with Carlisle. He hasn't come home yet and he hasn't phoned me. I just don't know what to do." Esme sniffled and Bella felt her heart ache for the woman.

"I'm sure he's fine. The talk went fine. He has something to tell you later tonight though. Maybe give him a call?" Bella suggested and she quickly said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Edward asked immediately and Bella blushed.

"I…Uh…" Bella stammered and Edward frowned, grabbing the phone out of her hand.

Bella made a lunge for it, but it was too late. Edward already saw the caller ID.

"Why was Esme calling you? What's going on Bella?" Edward asked sternly and Bella couldn't help but give a soft huff of annoyance.

"That wasn't very nice you know. It could've been my secret boyfriend and then this would've been really awkward. Not that it already isn't but you know what I mean." Bella said with a huff and she saw a glimmer of amusement in Edward's eyes.

He looked at her expectantly and Bella gave a soft sigh.

"Okay. Here's the deal. Don't freak out okay?" Bella said.

Edward nodded.

"I went to see Carlisle today." Bella said and Edward got up from his spot on the couch.

"Why would you do that? I told you to stay away from him? What did he say to get you there? I'm going to go see him and tell him to leave you the hell alone." Edward's anger made Bella wince but she stood up and she latched onto his arm.

"What happened to not freaking out? Just calm down. I have something I need to say to you. He didn't lure me to see him. I went there out of my own free will." Bella shouted, needing to be heard over Edward's loud curse words.

Edward froze and he stared at Bella.

"What?"

"Esme called me this morning and we met up to have coffee. She was in tears. She said things were tense at home and that Emmett and Jasper weren't willing to talk to Carlisle and even when they did, it was terse and they didn't have conversations. They wouldn't have dinner together anymore and things were bad over there. I sympathized with her because I thought something else was going on that night of him lashing out at us. I didn't think he did it maliciously. Esme told me that it was all a plan to get you off your ass and standing up for yourself. They didn't really hate what you did or want to stop your passion, they just wanted you to acknowledge it and to actually go for it yourself. They were to light your fire as she put it and of course I told her that was kind of weird, but nonetheless, it was a good sentiment. But Carlisle wasn't supposed to take it that far. Things went out of hand and Esme doesn't even know why. So I went to pay him a visit to get to the bottom of this." Bella explained and Edward narrowed his eyes.

"I can't believe they would do that. If they wanted me to do what I was passionate about why didn't they just tell me to? Why would they hatch this plan and make a mess of everything?" Edward asked and Bella reached out to him and they sat back down on the couch.

"I don't know. You should probably ask them that yourself." Bella gently said and Edward shook his head.

"What they did was wrong and uncalled for. I'm not going to talk to them about it. It would make things worse. You shouldn't talk to them either. Why are you even trying to help them?" Edward snapped.

"I felt like it was partly my fault that this was happening Edward. It seemed like you guys had the perfect family before I came along and ruined all that. So I had to try something. So I went to see Carlisle. And Edward. He looks horrible. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and hadn't eaten much. I really think that this has torn him up. I really think you should go talk to him." Bella advised and hoped she didn't have to tell him the real reason he looked so haggard.

"I told you. For the last time Bella. I'm not going to talk to him. I'm going to call them right now and tell them to leave you alone." Edward scowled and pulled out his phone.

Bella snatched his phone back and she glared at him.

"How are you being any type of mature right now Edward Cullen? You need to man the fuck up. Get off your high horse and apologize to your parents for your actions. They really miss you and I won't see this family rip itself apart because of a miscommunication." Bella insisted and Edward stood up in annoyance.

"Why can't you understand Bella? I don't want anything to do with them." Edward said.

"They're the ones who took you in and raised you. Whatever the reason for the fight was, you need to talk to them Edward." Bella said stubbornly.

Edward shook his head and he started to leave the room. Bella grasped at something desperately inside her brain to make Edward listen to her.

"Carlisle has cancer." She blurted out and she immediately put both hands over her mouth and her eyes went wide.

Edward slowly turned around and he stared at Bella in disbelief.

"What?"

* * *

Oh. my. Goshness!

I am sooo sorry that I haven't updated in FOREVER. The last post I made was in August and what month are we in now? October?! WTF?! I am soo sorry. Time just got away from me and school has been a pain in the butt. I can't make any promises about when the next update will be, but I will promise that it won't take a month for me to update. I know I did you guys wrong, but leave me some love!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	22. Chapter 22: It All Comes Crashing Down

**Chapter 22: It All Comes Crashing Down**

Bella stared at Edward in horrified silence at her own slip. Edward advanced slowly like a snake ready to attack.

"What did you just say to me?" Edward repeated slowly and with a deadly tone around them.

Bella shook her head rapidly as she backed away slowly even though she knew Edward would never hurt her. Edward reached Bella in a few big steps and he grabbed her arms and shook her gently and scowled at her.

"Tell me what you just said." he insisted and Bella's wide frightened eyes did nothing to calm his anger.

"I can't. I shouldn't. I shouldn't have told you in the first place!" Bella said in a slightly hysterical voice.

Edward stared at her with an unblinking gaze and Bella had to tear her gaze away from him.

"He...he told me he has cancer." Bella whispered in a small voice.

Edward let her go and cursed loudly causing her to flinch.

"How do you know it's true?" Edward bit out angrily.

"I...I don't. But you can't live your life being doubtful..." Bella started to say but stopped when Edward glared at her.

"Don't make this about me right now. This is about you and that you were keeping this from me." he said through clenched teeth.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you! Not to mention that I promised Carlisle." Bella tried to explain but Edward shut his eyes and turned away from her causing her heart to clench.

"Edward. He didn't want to tell you guys because he didn't want you all to pity him and forgive him this way. He said he wanted you to forgive him because you want to, and not because he might be on his death bed. Not even Esme knows right now. I don't even know where Carlisle is." Bella said softly, trying to get through to him.

She put her hand gently on Edward's shoulder, in hopes of soothing him, but he shook her hand off roughly.

"I can't even talk to you right now. You betrayed me and my trust." Edward said gruffly.

"What are you talking about? I've betrayed Carlisle's trust by telling you what he said to me. I shouldn't have told you at all! I should've let him tell you." Bella said in frustration.

"So now because you told me, I have to be the good son and return to his side because if I don't and I hold a grudge, I will look like the bad guy." Edward opened his eyes and his green eyes held no emotion, no feeling.

"Edward. I didn't tell you to guilt you into forgiving him. I shouldn't have told you at all. Do you understand? I know that it must be hard for you to believe that something like this is happening especially since I just told you that Esme and Carlisle just tricked you..." Bella trailed off, not knowing whether she was making matters worse.

"How do you know this isn't just another one of their tricks. All they've been doing lately is lying to me and saying things that aren't true. How do you know this isn't another one of their plans to get things to be normal again?" Edward insisted and Bella gave a soft sigh of annoyance.

"Why do you have to be so doubtful? Even if it was a trick, and I admit that would be a pretty shitty thing to do, they just want to know you care. Why can't you just bury the hatchet and forgive your dad?" Bella asked, lifting her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"They've tricked me more times than I can count now! I can't just waltz up there and pretend nothing happened and just forgive them." Edward argued and Bella growled in frustration.

"I'm not saying to just pretend nothing happened, I'm just saying you guys obviously need to talk things out." Bella encouraged.

"Oh yeah, like how you talked things out with _your_ parents?" Edward sneered.

Bella froze and she raised an eyebrow.

"I will pretend you did not go there just now because it is the heat of the moment and you were just given some news that you obviously don't understand how to process." Bella said, taking a deep breath in.

"No. I went there. You're lecturing me about my family when your whole family's a mess too. What right does it give you to tell me what to do regarding my parents? As I recall, this fight got started because I was trying to defend our relationship." Edward snapped and Bella's eyes filled with tears, much to her own disgust.

Edward's eyes widened and he reached out towards Bella, but she flinched away, backing away from him.

"Bella, I didn't mean that. I'm so ..." Edward started to say but Bella shook her head as she blinked back tears.

"No. Save it. I get it. I understand what you were trying to say. And obviously that's how you feel. You can't take those things back. You obviously feel some regret being with me because it's caused you problems and you've lost your job, your family and your trophy wife that you should've had if not for me." Bella said all in one breath.

"Bella, that's not what..." Edward interrupted, but she held up her hand for silence.

"It's my turn to talk Edward. I said from the very beginning I didn't want this to happen. This is the kind of situation that I didn't want to be put in. I insisted that you were sure of what this was, and you told me there was nothing we couldn't work out. I was so stupid for not seeing through that as a ploy to just get me to buy into your plan." Bella said bitterly.

"Now wait a minute, it wasn't a plan of anything. You felt the chemistry too and don't deny the fact that you wanted to see where this would take us." Edward defended himself and Bella scoffed.

"Oh now, it's a science experiment. How romantic. I was the one who was reluctant to come into this relationship. I was the one who didn't want any of this to happen. I was the one who tried to fix things in your family and I opened up to you. And now you're throwing it all back into my face. I get it. I shouldn't be involved in your family business because I'm not family. I totally understand. But I thought when you said you were sure and we committed to this, it meant that we would do whatever we could to help each other out. Not belittle them and pretend that this problem is all one person's fault. It takes two to tango Edward. And I know this relationship was my fault as well. If only I had resisted and just left when you still weren't sure and then things wouldn't reach this stage. I don't even know why I got involved. It was a mistake, clearly. Whatever we had obviously isn't enough to keep this relationship afloat when problems arise." Bella said.

She wiped her eyes with her fingertips and she tried to restrain the sniffle that came out. Edward had a guilty expression and he tried to open his mouth to say something but Bella cut him off.

"I just wanted to help. But I know it's not welcome, but just let me say this last thing and I'll be out of your hair. This problem? Your family? Those people there are what's important to you and you're important to them. I know they want you to go back there and just talk things out with them. Whether the situation is real or not, they still deserve a chance to work things out with you. Besides, I'm sure things will be better now that I'm out of the picture." Bella stood up and she continued to wipe away at her tears which wouldn't stop.

"No, Bella stop. I don't want you to go.." Edward protested as he too stood up as if to stop her from going.

"It's not really what you want anymore is it? Obviously this was a gigantic mistake. I'm sorry for all the trouble and regrets I've caused. I hope everything goes okay. Really, I do. Your family's great. You shouldn't let them go just because you're doubtful of every little thing that happens." Bella said softly and she tried to brush past him to leave, but Edward grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"So you're just going to run away? You're not even going to let me talk this out with you? Like you want me to talk to my parents?" Edward asked.

"Don't you turn this on me Edward. This is about more than me and you. I'll come back for my things later." Bella tried to tug her wrist away from Edward, but he refused to let go.

Bella spun around and put her hands on his face and gave him a light kiss and put her lips to his ear.

"I love you. But it's just not enough." she whispered and he felt her warm tears against his neck.

Bella let go of him and she rushed out of the house like it was on fire, leaving Edward standing in their living room, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He watched as she tore out of the driveway in her car and watched dumbly, unable to move a muscle.

* * *

OMG. Don't hate me. Couples fight. All the time. Doesn't mean they'll break up. Even though Bella kind of just...broke up with him...hmm.. Stay tuned lovelies!

xoxo,

cookiemander


	23. Chapter 23: Making Up is Hard to Do

**Chapter 23: Making Up is Hard to Do**

Edward stayed in that position for hours until he saw Emmett and Jasper pull up onto his driveway and burst through the door.

"Dude? Did you hear that dad has cancer? Where's Bella? What's happening?" Jasper panted heavily as if he had just run a marathon.

Edward had no reaction other than staring blankly at them.

"Hello? Where's Bella? The girls said that she told them." Emmett asked, waving his hand in front of Edward.

"She left." Edward said in a hollow voice.

He finally sank into the couch and put his head in his hands.

"Left? What do you mean she left?" Jasper asked, peering through all the doors as if Bella would pop out.

"I fucked up. I said things that drove her away. She has every right to be mad at me. I shouldn't have said those things to her. God, I'm such a dumbass. I need to go find her." Edward leapt up and Emmett pushed him back down.

"Obviously she's heated and upset. You both need time to cool down. Right now can we just talk about dad and his condition?" Emmett said, not letting Edward up.

"We should probably call mom." Edward suddenly said, remembering that Bella mentioned that Esme had yet to find out about her husband's condition.

"No need. I already called her to meet us here. Left a message for dad too." Jasper said from his corner.

Edward pushed Emmett away and Edward grabbed a fistful of Jasper's shirt.

"What the hell were you thinking. Thinking that this place is a fucking family meeting place? Do I look stable enough to talk to either of them right now? I just lost the girl who I am in love with but never said it to her and you want me to talk to the people who lied to me? Are you kidding me right now?" Edward growled and Emmett had to pry him off of Jasper.

"The first step to fixing all of this is to fix things with the parents. And then you can go to Bella apologize, do whatever you want. By fixing things with the parents, it shows that you can actually take the initiative to solve things and not just stand there and snap at people." Jasper explained while smoothing out his shirt.

Edward let out a harsh laugh and pushed Emmett roughly away from him. Emmett stood by cautiously, as if waiting for Edward to attack once more.

"So you're just calling me a pussy for not solving any of the problems." Edward said in a harsh tone and Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Nobody is saying that Edward. All I'm saying is if you want to win back the girl of your dreams, you need to put some work into your other relationships and show her that you can be a guy who has healthy relationships and somebody who can put the effort into working on them." Jasper explained and Edward's stance softened.

The doorbell rang multiple times and the boys looked at each other.

"Who's going to break the news to her?" Emmett asked nervously.

"Shouldn't Carlisle?" Edward said in a dull tone.

Emmett and Jasper shot each other worried looks as the doorbell kept ringing. Neither of them wanted to be the one to open the door to a near hysterical mother or see their worn down father. Edward glared at them and he got up from the couch.

"Honestly. You two orchestrate this whole plan to try to make things better and now you can't even open the damn door?" Edward grouched and opened the door to reveal the tearstained face of his mother.

"Oh Edward. What happened? I've been worried sick! I get a text from Jasper saying that this is a life or death meeting and that I need to come immediately. And I don't know where Carlisle is. Where's Bella?" Esme said all in a rush.

"Bella left." Edward said and he walked into the house, leaving his mom with her jaw open standing at the door.

After a couple minutes she got back to her senses and followed Edward into the living room.

"What do you mean she left?" Esme asked with her face paler than before.

"I mean she left because I said some things that hurt her feelings, so she left." Edward explained half heartedly and Esme gasped.

"Edward Anthony Cullen! Didn't I raise you to do better than to hurt people's feelings?" Esme scolded.

"Yeah you also raised me to believe a bunch of liars." Edward snapped and Esme had to blink back tears.

"Yes, I see now why Bella left. You need to work on that." Esme said softly and she sat on the couch as well.

They all sat in a stony silence with a few occasional sniffs from Esme. Jasper and Emmett glanced at each other awkwardly while Edward tugged at his hair.

"Where is he?" Emmett whispered to Jasper, unable to take the silence any longer.

Jasper shrugged, wrinkling his brow and checked his phone. The doorbell rang at the same moment and everybody froze. Nobody moved to get the door and the doorbell fell silent.

"Well now, let's not all sit here and stare at each other. Somebody has to open the door." Esme said in a faint voice and Jasper stood up to get the door.

A few seconds later, Jasper emerged with Carlisle in the living room. Edward refused to look at Carlisle and instead concentrated on a photo of him and Bella that was in a small picture frame on the table across from the couch.

"Boys. Esme." Carlisle's thin voice made Edward look clearly at his father.

It was obvious that Carlisle had lost weight and the shadows and bags under his eyes made Edward realize that this feud had affected all of them negatively, making him feel slightly more guilty than he did before Bella's hasty departure.

"I suppose this is a family meeting and that I should be completely honest with everybody." Carlisle continued.

Nobody said a word and they waited quietly for Carlisle to say what he had in mind.

"Obviously, as I'm sure you know by now Edward, there was a plan to light your fire and make sure that you did what you loved. Not what you thought we would love for you to do. Obviously it was our mistake and we should've never taken care of things like that. We should've just told you but we didn't think you would believe us and we just wanted you to have that spark and that motivation to do what you loved. And then came along Bella which wasn't in the plan at all. She wasn't supposed to be there and none of this was supposed to happen really. I thought that she would screw up our plan and instead she only made it better but letting you be who you wanted to be and you snapped sooner than we expected. With that being said, none of that really justifies what we did no matter how much we love you and how much we just wanted to see you succeed. I was frustrated that a girl who nobody knew about could swoop in and convince you to do what you loved which is what your mother and I have tried to do since we realized you were doing everything you could to try to please us. That's no excuse for the way that I've treated Bella, and I would like to apologize to her. She came to me and offered her help even though I had been horrid to her." Carlisle said and he looked around the room as if noticing the disappearance of Bella for the first time.

"Where is she exactly?" he asked and looked at Edward.

"She left." Esme was the one who said it in a soft tone and Edward had to look away from his father.

"With that being said, although she was a great girl to pull Edward out of his rut, obviously she can't stay for the long run of she runs at the first sight of trouble. Do you see that?" Carlisle said and Edward's anger escalated again, causing him to clench his fists.

"Are you stupid right now? She's the one who tried to bring us back together and now you're saying to me she's not worth it because I was the one who made her leave? Because I was the jerk who completely disregarded her feelings? How about you focus on you right now dad and how you screwed up so we can move on and I can go and find her." Edward sneered and Carlisle closed his eyes with a drawn expression.

"You're right. I guess that's the one thing that I didn't do and that's why we're here today. I didn't fight hard enough for you guys to be your own person and now look at us. We're all miserable as who we are and we can't even have a family talk. I didn't want to tell you guys this because I didn't want this to turn into a pity party or that you feel obliged to speak to me or to help me because of what's been going on in my life. It doesn't excuse my behaviour and I should've just come clean with it so that this never happened. I have cancer. It's the early stages, but they're worried that it will spread so I need to go into treatment immediately." Carlisle said heavily and Esme gave a little gasp and more tears streamed down her pale face.

Emmett wrapped his arm around his mother before clearing his throat.

"We're a family no matter what happens. Family comes first and now that there's this problem we need to come together to fight it. It's not out of pity or an obligation, it's because we're a family and we have to be there for each other. If we can't even be a family, how can we expect to start our own family and live our lives knowing that we didn't help or try to do anything?" Emmett said in a gruff voice.

They all sat in silence, digesting the information when Edward's phone gave a shrill ring, causing everybody to jump. With a mumbled apology, Edward answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Mr. Edward Cullen?" a woman's voice sounded over the phone.

"Speaking. Who is this?" Edward said in a confused voice.

"My name is Jessica, and I'm calling from the Forks Hospital? Your girlfriend Isabella Swan has been in an accident..."

* * *

Holy smokes! Three chapters ?! Swoosh! I just want to say thank you to all of you who read and review my story, I really appreciate it!

Dun DUN DUN, Edward and Bella can't seem to catch a break can they?! Gah. I'm a terrible person...

Just a heads up guys, I'm thinking of giving this story a wrap, but never fear, I have some new ideas for some new stories, if you guys are interested! I will keep you guys updated, in the mean time, stay tuned and let's hope for Edward that Bella is okay... :)

xoxo,

cookiemander


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